Heat turned up in quarter-final clash
Spanish football titans clash with Italian giants in European Champions League quarter-final second leg matches tonight.
A fiery battle is expected at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium in Spain, where Inter Milan will defend a 1-0 first leg advantage.
At the Nou Camp Stadium, Spain, Barcelona clash with Italian champions Juventus with the scores tied at 1-1 after the first leg.
Now coach of Inter, Hector Cuper twice took Valencia to losing Champions League final appearances in 2000 and 2001.
Last season Cuper guided the Nerazzuri (Inter) to within just one match of the Italian Serie A title, and consequently has the unwanted tag of a coach who can't get teams over the final hurdle.
The success Cuper brought to Valencia was unappreciated by fans disgruntled with his defence-first tactics.
Present coach Rafael Benitez's favoured open attacking style is more popular.
The first leg defeat in Milan was harsh on the Spaniards who had much of the possession and created many chances.
Christian Vieri got the lone goal in a bad-tempered match that included red cards for Valencia's David Albelda and Inter's Emre Berezoglu.
Valencia will be counting on the silky skills of Kily Gonzalez, John Carew and Pablo Aimar, while Inter's inspiration comes from Vieri, Hernan Crespo, Sergio Conceicao and Javier Zanetti.
Barcelona remain undefeated in this competition and may have the advantage now, as while Marcello Lippi's side have been dominant in Serie A (the Italian domestic league), their form in Europe has been patchy and they have won just one away game.
The Champions League has been a saving grace for Barcelona who have sat mid-table in their domestic league all season.
Poor performances in La Liga cost coach Luis Van Gaal his job and his replacement, Radomir Antic, hasn't been able to lift them.
But in Europe they have been consistent and the players now know that winning the Champions Cup is the only way they can qualify for European football next season.
Both sides will be hoping for sparkling shows from their star midfielders tonight.
Barcelona need Luis Enrique, Gaizka Mendieta, Xavi Hernandez and Philip Cocu at their best, while in Edgar Davids and Pavel Nedved Juventus have two world class players lining up with emerging Italian-Argentinian superstar Mauro Camoranesi.
In the first leg, the Spaniards fell behind to a goal by Paolo Montero, but persistence brought a late equaliser from Argentine striker Javier Saviola.
Tonight: Barcelona v Juventus (STAR - 2.30am),
Valencia v Inter Milan (ESPN - 2.30am).
Tomorrow: Manchester United v Real Madrid (ESPN - 2.30am),
AC Milan v Ajax Amsterdam (STAR - 2.30am).
