The Japan Times - Flick has Barcelona on cusp of Champions League semis, six years on

This year marks a decade since Barcelona won the last of their five European Cups to date, when a side coached by Luis Enrique and spearheaded by Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez beat Juventus 3-1 in Berlin.

That completed a treble after they had also claimed La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and meant that in 10 seasons they had won the Champions League four times and reached at least the semi-finals on a total of eight occasions.

However, the last decade has seen Barca lose their way on the field amid the off-pitch financial troubles which caused the departure of Messi, their greatest ever player, in 2021.

They have been to just one semi-final in Europe's elite club competition since 2015.

That was in 2019, when Barcelona squandered a 3-0 first-leg lead against Liverpool by collapsing and losing 4-0 in the return.

A year later came the humiliating 8-2 loss to a Flick-coached Bayern Munich in a one-off quarter-final played behind closed doors in Lisbon during the pandemic.

This season is on track to be their best since the end of the Messi era, as Flick's side lie four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with seven games to go and also have the Copa del Rey final to come against their greatest rivals at the end of this month.

- 'We want to continue' -

With Messi's heir apparent Lamine Yamal firing alongside Raphinha and the veteran Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona look back to their best, particularly against top opposition.

Besides last Wednesday's 4-0 win over last season's Champions League runners-up Dortmund in the quarter-final first leg, their 4-1 win over Bayern in the league phase showed how ruthless Flick's team can be.

In two clashes with Real this season, Barcelona have won 4-0 away in La Liga and 5-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.

Along with showing there is life after Messi at Barcelona, this season has been one of vindication for Flick.

Despite piloting Bayern to a glorious 2020 in which they won six trophies including the Champions League in Lisbon, Flick's poor stint as Germany boss raised questions about his ability to make Barcelona great again.

Winning this season's Champions League final, at Munich's Allianz Arena no less, would show the 60-year-old truly belongs among the European coaching elite.

On Saturday, after a 1-0 win at Leganes in La Liga which extended their unbeaten run to 24 games in 2025, Flick told reporters: "We've come this far, but we want to continue on this path.

"I'm absolutely enjoying being able to work with my coaching staff and this team. We've got an incredible atmosphere in the side."

- 'Greatest miracle' -

The hosts on Wednesday may take inspiration from Liverpool's comeback six years ago under former Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, but are under no illusions about the scale of the task.

Dortmund are currently eighth in the Bundesliga, in danger of missing out on European qualification altogether for next season, despite a 2-2 draw away to leaders Bayern on Saturday.

Sporting director Lars Ricken said Saturday "we need the greatest miracle in the history of Borussia Dortmund" to get through to the last four.

Ricken, a Dortmund native who was among the scorers on the club's greatest night -- the 1997 Champions League final win over Juventus -- is no stranger to big European nights in black and yellow.

"We have to try to win, whether that's enough to advance, I don't know," he said.

Calling himself "an optimist but a realist", Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said his side wanted to save face on Tuesday.

"But without a spark, a spark of hope, it wouldn't make sense.

"Our ambition is to win the game. Is it 1-0, 2-1? We are playing at home so we would like to give a gift to all our supporters."

Y.Watanabe--JT