Van Bommel: It Will Be Strange To Play Barça
 

Mark Van Bommel is relishing the prospect of facing FC Barcelona in a prestigious friendly on Wednesday and admits it will be strange to play against old friends.

The Dutch international spent a season at Camp Nou before moving to Bayern Munich last summer and still have very fond memories of his time in Catalunya.

Mehmet Scholl's testimonial will be the first time that Van Bommel has played against his former club since leaving.

"It will be weird to play Barça because it is just a year since I left," he said.

"I have been following the team since then, I have watched all the games I can and am still in contact with some of the players and coaching staff".

"It will be hard for us because we started the league on Saturday and we have another game next week. It will be a good test to keep us in shape.

"But I doubt we will stick to the same eleven for the whole 90 minutes."

Despite kicking off the Bundesliga season last weekend with a victory over Hansa Rostock, Van Bommel understands that Bayern have scheduled a friendly for this week.

"It’s normal enough because lots of leagues haven’t started yet and are still getting ready," he continued. "Anyway, it will be an important game because it is Mehmet Scholl’s last one".

Van Bommel helped Barça win the Champions League during his one season at the club and he believes that they will be one of the favourites to win the trophy next term.

"They have signed Henry, Touré, Abidal and Milito, all very good players that will help the side to win titles," he explained.

"They are capable of it, but last season they were after seven titles and ended up with just two. I think they were unlucky. Against Liverpool, for example."

One of the main differences that Van Bommel has noticed between the two clubs is the way that other fans view them.

"Barça is more cultural because of what it represents to Catalonia. Bayern are a club people hate in Germany because they have won so many things and teams want to beat us," he said.

"In the Spanish League it’s more evenly divided because there are FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Bayern and Barça fans are very similar, but Barça has more members. They are two very big clubs that have a lot in common."