ENGLAND: SOCCER - Barcelona prepare for Champions League clash with Chelsea and comment on injured London club goalkeeper Petr Cech

Barcelona prepared on Tuesday (October 17) for their Champions League clash against Chelsea in London on Wednesday, but found time to spare a thought for seriously injured Blues' goalkeeper Petr Cech. Cech had an operation on a fractured skull and is likely to be out for several months after he was caught on the head by Reading's Stephen Hunt during Saturday's Premier League game. Hunt has apologised and denied the challenge was deliberate, a view supported by his club and the players' association. The incident, which was followed by substitute goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini also being carried off unconscious after a goalmouth clash, has caused a furore. Cech's injury overshadowed the Champions League game with Barcelona in which third-choice keeper Hilario, signed in June, will make his Chelsea debut. Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard told a news conference in London on Tuesday: "I read about it in the newspapers and that's terrible. I really hope that this great goalkeeper, which he is, can recover from his injuries and I hope to see him back as soon as possible. I think Chelsea's a great club and they have a wonderful selection and of course it isn't easy to be a substitute for Petr Cech or (Carlo) Cudicini, but I think that the keepers who are working with Chelsea have their qualities and they are able to get on the pitch, so we don't have special tactics." Chelsea's meetings with the Spanish champions in the past two years have been tense, confrontational and controversial affairs. But Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Wednesday's atmosphere would be calmer because it was not a knockout, but a group game and Rijkaard commented: "I feel perfectly normal and I don't feel strange at all. But I think maybe if things are a little bit more peaceful than in the past it's possibly something to do with the fact that there are these injuries to the goalkeepers, in particular the very serious one to (Petr) Cech and that's why maybe the people within the club at Chelsea are a little bit calmer than they have been in the past." Barcelona player Xavi Hernandez was asked about recent signing Eidur Gudjohnsen and replied: "He's a great person. He has sort of given us some qualities that we didn't have before. I suppose if you were to draw a parallel with another player you could say he has similar qualities to Henrik Larsson. He's well capable of getting forward and scoring goals and as I said at the beginning, in the dressing room he's a really nice guy"

ITN Source | October 19, 2006

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