The Spain international has nothing but respect for the Bayern coach, while he has voiced his delight with Thiago Alcantara’s return to the pitch after an injury lay-off
Andres Iniesta has warned his Barcelona team-mates not to underestimate Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final tie irrespective of their injury worries as he has little doubt Pep Guardiola will come up with a solution for his side’s problems.
The Bundesliga champions will be without the likes of Arjen Robben, Holger Badstuber and David Alaba in the first leg of their semi-final encounter next week, while Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribery are doubtful, too.
Bayern recovered from a 3-1 first-leg defeat to Porto, winning 6-1 in Munich, and Iniesta feels that performance shows that Bayern remain a force to be reckoned with despite their injuries, adding that the form of the day will be decisive on Wednesday’s encounter at Camp Nou.
“There is no such thing as a good result after the first leg against a team coached by Guardiola,” Iniesta was quoted as saying by Sport.
“Guardiola has already shown that nothing is impossible for him.
“It might sound like a cliche, but the fact is that it is not really about the opponent in the semi-finals. It’s all about the form of the day.”
Wednesday’s match will see both Guardiola and Thiago Alcantara return to Camp Nou and Iniesta is looking forward to meeting up with his former coach and colleague.
“Guardiola has played a huge role in Barcelona’s history, both as a player and as a coach. He has marked an extremely successful era. People will never forget what he achieved here.
“Thiago’s fine performances against Porto really pleased me. He has had so much bad luck in recent years. It is always difficult to get back to your best, but he is already showing his class again.”