Laurent Blanc, the coach of Bordeaux, acknowledges that Barcelona are the club every team will be hoping to avoid in today's last- eight Champions League draw.
Barca, the champions, are the sole Spanish team left and showed their class with a 4-0 destruction of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, giving them a 5-1 win on aggregate.
They will be counting on the skills of Lionel Messi to lead them to the Champions League final at the home of their arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and thus become the first team to defend the title since the competition's inception in 1993.
The Catalans go into today's quarter-final draw in Nyon, Switzerland along with Manchester United, the 2008 winners and last season's runners-up, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Lyon, Bordeaux, CSKA Moscow and Bayern Munich.
France have two teams in the final eight for the first time since 2004 with Bordeaux and Lyon.
And Blanc said he, for one, wanted to avoid the Spaniards after his side reached the quarter-finals courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Greek club Olympiakos at home for a 3-1 aggregate victory in midweek.
Asked if he was hoping to draw CSKA Moscow, Blanc said: "It would show a lack of respect for Moscow to say that. This team achieved a super match against Sevilla.
"But I'd like to avoid Barcelona because I think they're the bogeyman of this competition even if I saw a superb team on Tuesday evening: Inter Milan."
Barca and United, both three-time winners, and Inter Milan, two-time champions, will be the teams to avoid.
Joan Laporta, the Barca president, said his side were feeling confident, but taking it one match at a time.
"We are on the right path," he said. "We have very difficult opponents ahead of us. We cannot think about the final, on Friday we will know who we will face and we will continue working as we have until now. They will be some hard-fought quarter-finals."
Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan impressed as they beat Chelsea 3-1 over two legs, while Bayern Munich scraped past Fiorentina in the last 16.
Lyon complete the line-up after they saw off Real Madrid to deprive Cristiano Ronaldo of the chance to return to Old Trafford.
* With agencies
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Company%20Profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
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match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
