Lillo: Chelsea will suffer against Barcelona

The former Almeria coach, friend and mentor of Pep Guardiola gives a unique insight into the Catalans' playing philosophy and what the Blues can expect at Stamford Bridge tonight.Juan Manuel Lillo is one of the defining figures in the career of Pep Guardiola. After a match between Lillo’s Oviedo and Guardiola’s Barcelona in 1996-97, the Blaugrana midfielder knocked on the door of the young coach because he was so impressed by the way his modest outfit had held their own against the Catalan powerhouse, capitulating only at the end of a 4-2 thriller.Since then, the two have maintained a very close relationship that included a recommendation by Pep for his mentor to be Barcelona coach in 2003 and a brief stint together as coach and player for the exotic Mexican First Division outfit Dorados de Culiacan.As such, there is hardly a more authorised voice to speak exclusively to Goal.com about the upcoming showcase between Barcelona and Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League.Goal.com: A Chelsea v Barcelona Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge. Many memories, that famous goal by Iniesta ... will history repeat itself?Lillo: You never know what will happen. But of course, what happened was not normal, because there was a team that was much better and had to wait for a stroke of luck to win the tie. Essien, who had the ability to score a goal from outside the area, didn’t had the resolve to strongly clear a routine ball. Had he done so, Barca would not have won the Champions League, and would not have played the Club World Cup or the Super Cup and they would have three titles less. You have to think that history is often written by such issues. However, if you watch both matches again you will see that Barca were infinitely superior.How do you expect the game to develop?There is only one ball, but I think if there were two, both would be for Barcelona. Both teams have a 50 per cent possibility of winning a match but the odds will always favour the one who has the ball more and treats it better, the one that has the ball near the opposition's goal.Do you think Barcelona’s playing style can benefit the English side?Chelsea will suffer the same as all the rest. Against Barcelona you do not play as you want, you play as you can. What happens is that, playing as they can, Chelsea will have a chance, because that style is pretty close to what they are; not having the ball won’t matter much to them, you could say, because that won’t be much different to the way they are used to playing.So the recipe for Barca will be the same, pass and pass the ball until they find a way to score ...With each pass, the team get more organised, and each pass disorganises their opponents. So when they actually get the ball back it’s like if they have placed your TV in the bathroom, the bidet in the kitchen and the saucepans in the bedroom. When you are able to get everything back to its place, Barca have already found a way through.Starting with Guardiola and finishing with the whole squad, everybody in the cule entourage has placed special emphasis on the state of the pitch. Is it that important?For Barca the pitch is extremely important, not decisive because there is nothing decisive in life, but important nonetheless. The pitch is always a factor, for everyone, but for a team that likes to get the ball on the floor and play it fast to find players in attacking positions it becomes essential. If the pitch is not perfect it hurts the team, of course.And how should they solve that problem? The rules should change. The conditions have to be those that help the fan who has paid for their tickets, not to benefit one team or another. Of course, if the public believes that the field must be in bad shape because their team will have more chances to win, then so be it.Two big semi-finals, two great rivals and two teams that appear to be above the rest, Real Madrid and Barcelona. You can’t ask for more ...You see the Spanish teams and they seem to be one step above the rest, and you also have a historical fact that the final of the two European [club] competitions could be fought out by Spanish teams. We only need to win Euro 2012 to put the icing on the cake.