Iniesta outlines European ambition

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has set his sights on Champions League glory ahead of Barca’s opening match with Spartak Moscow.

The Spaniard has been crowned a champion of Europe with his club on three occasions, but suffered semi-final heartbreak last season when the Catalan outfit lost to Chelsea.

“I think we basically did everything well,” Iniesta told Uefa.com. “The only thing was that (Chelsea) scored their goals in stoppage-time, both away and at home.

“But we were close to making it to the final, just that bit of luck was missing. It just wasn’t going to happen. Chelsea did an exceptional job and took advantage of their chances. If nothing else, we can learn from this.”

London’s Wembley stadium has played host to two of the four finals that the Catalans have won in their history, and Iniesta revealed that he was looking forward to another shot at glory in the English capital.

“It is a place, a stadium that is important to Barcelona, in this case because of the Champions League trophies we won there. So we have our minds focused on that, but there is still a very long road ahead of us,” he said.

“Football today is so balanced out that it’s pretty difficult to make it into the final and to achieve things, but we take it with anticipation. We had a lot of joy to make it to the final and we will fight to the end.”

When asked about the differences between new coach Tito Vilanova and former boss Pep Guardiola, the UEFA Player of the Year said that the duo had completely different approaches.

“Everybody’s different. It’s not just Tito Vilanova and Guardiola, but everybody’s different. Everybody has their own way of expressing themselves and saying things and working,” Iniesta said.

“The philosophy and the method of working are basically pretty similar. But we have a new coach, a new form of doing things.

“We’re very happy about him being with us, he knows us very well and I’m confident that things will go well.”