Andres Iniesta has rejected claims that Barcelona's 4-0
Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich signalled the end of an era.
The Bundesliga champions swept aside the revered Catalan
side with astonishing ease in Tuesday's semi-final first leg, inflicting their
heaviest European defeat in 16 years.
Chelsea, Celtic, Milan and Real Madrid have all defeated
the tika-taka exponents in the last year but Iniesta shrugged off suggestions
that the football model to follow has moved from Barcelona to Munich.
"I think it is unjust to talk about the end of an
era," he told a press conference in Barcelona.
"This team in the past five years has won two
Champions Leagues, been to three more semi-finals, we are about to win a fourth
league in five years, we have won Supercups and everything else, it has been a
blessed cycle of success.
"That is many years winning and fighting for
everything. If you analyse five years in one game against Munich it doesn't
make any sense. For me, the end of an era is when years pass and you don't win
titles.
"People need to have a lot of respect for this
squad, manager and club in general.
"Evidently we need to improve but this is an
evolution that the club has to have. It doesn't make sense to me to talk about
the ending of an era."
No side has before overturned a 4-0 first leg deficit in
the Champions League but Iniesta insisted pride would be at stake at Camp Nou
on Wednesday.
"They (Bayern) are in a very good moment right now
and we need to recognise their superiority," he added. "Other
opponents have recognised it with us.
"It hurts to not have been able to live with the
demands that Bayern imposed on us but we need to appeal to our faith a little
for the return leg. If we are going to go out, we need to do it giving
everything."
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