Josep Gombau admits excitement in Aston Villa’s camp is high, ahead of his side’s UEFA Youth League meeting with Barcelona at Villa Park on Tuesday afternoon (ko 3pm GMT).
The Villans will compete in the last 16 of the competition for the first time in history against the storied La Masia side, the game taking place at the club’s iconic B6 home.
And the Young Lions’ coach admitted both players and staff “can’t wait” for the game, which represents a unique opportunity to test themselves against a “high-quality” opponent.
Speaking to VillaTV around 24 hours before kick-off, Gombau said: “We are looking forward for the game.
“It is a very nice game to play on. All the players are excited. Us as a coaching staff, too.
“It is a good opportunity to play a high-quality youth football game, and playing at home, Villa Park, we can’t wait.
“It’s a good challenge, but also for us, it’s a good test to see where we are.
“I think that we are doing very well in this Youth League in the past games. It’s a challenge that we have, and we want to have these kinds of games.
“It is a massive game tomorrow. We want to do well and to have a good game, and also let the players have this experience to play these kinds of games.
“I think that it will be a very good game, because I think we have a very good team, very good squad.
“We are doing well, and I think we can do a very good game tomorrow.”
Reflecting on this season’s Youth League campaign to date as a whole, Villa’s Under-21 Head Coach spoke positively of the experiences it has brought.
From a successful trip to Hungary in the round of 32 where his side eliminated Puskás Akadémia, to facing six unique, different challenges in the league phase, Gombau has been pleased with his players’ application, and is keen for them to continue their journey tomorrow.
“I think it’s a very positive one,” he added, when asked about the run generally.
“First of all, as experience for the players, to play as under-19s, in the biggest competition in the world, in under-19s football.
“I think that we had a very good group stage, home and away, playing six games, winning three, losing three, playing against very good clubs and teams.
“After that, we got to the knockout stage, the first step bringing us to Hungary. It was a very good game, a very good stadium. Playing away always is difficult, and I think that we did a very good job, and we won the game.
“Now, we have this next game against Barcelona, which is a very good experience. For us, it’s a challenge, and we need to take it.
“Today, we were speaking, we need to be thinking big, and we need to play tomorrow thinking we need to enjoy, but also, we need to be very competitive.
“The aim of the team is to win and to go through.”
Aston Villa v Barcelona
