Barça blend graft with craft

The dream of winning the UEFA Champions League has been a constant theme for this FC Barcelona team and the delight and relief of the players was palpable after they held off AC Milan last night to reach next month's showpiece in Paris.

Valuable lesson
With Deco and Ludovic Giuly the only Barça players to have experienced a final, that desire has helped drive the side since the arrival of Joan Laporta as president and Frank Rijkaard as coach. Holding off Carlo Ancelotti's men was no mean feat as the visitors from Italy tested and probed the Blaugrana defence during an engrossing goalless draw. But Barcelona are not just about attack and their elimination by Chelsea FC last season has taught them a valuable lesson in defending slim leads.

'Dream'
"Barcelona have learned from last year," said striker Samuel Eto'o. "We know we have to defend and we know we need to keep hold of a lead. Now the dream is very close and I hope we can make it come true. We were under pressure throughout the whole match and that made it very difficult. But that pressure and concern will mean nothing compared to the joy we will feel when we are at the final. It should be a good final against Arsenal - the team that scores the most goals against the team that concedes the least."

Home support
Giuly's strike at San Siro earned Barça a date with Arsenal FC in the French capital and the diminutive winger is delighted the game will be played in his homeland. "My town is close to Paris and my whole family will be in the stadium to watch the match," he said. "I just hope we can win it. I hope I can have some luck too and score again. We've qualified without conceding a goal against Milan and that's important. We had to fight and that's what we did right until the last minute."

Giuly hopes
Deco and Giuly were on opposing sides when FC Porto defeated AS Monaco FC 3-0 in the 2004 final, although the French international's involvement lasted only 22 minutes as he left the Arena AufSchalke pitch clutching his midriff. "I hope this second final will go better for me personally and that we'll lift the trophy, although we've achieved nothing yet," continued Giuly. "I won nothing with Monaco. No one remembers the losers so I hope we win this final."