Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain will today clash in the Uefa Champions League quarter finals in an encounter that will see PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic play against his former club Barcelona. Already, Barcelona’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has said Uefa has set a precedent by clearing the Paris Saint-Germain striker to play against his former club in the encounter.
Ibrahimovic had originally been given a two-match ban after being sent-off in his side’s 2-1 win over Valencia in the first-leg of their last-16 round tie. However, an appeal against the second match of his ban was upheld last week. “What matters to me about this decision is the result and the fact that Ibra is going to be able to play. I suppose that from now on Uefa will continue to use this same criteria in similar cases. We already know Ibrahimovic well. He is a great player. He scores goals, is quick and has great technical ability. With Ibra it is obvious that PSG is a better team.”
Zubizarreta was though delighted to have manager Tito Vilanova back amongst the party that flew to the French capital yesterday morning.
Vilanova only returned to Barcelona last week after undergoing cancer treatment in New York for the past two months and is expected to take his place on the touchline for the first time since January at the Parc des Princes. “The return of Tito to the bench is a return to normality,” he said.