According to reports, Almeida, who has deep knowledge of Italian football (having spent over seven years playing there), is now coaching in Greece with AEK Athens, where he won a Greek Super League title.

The former Argentine player spent two seasons at Inter Milan – Barcelona’s opponent in the Champions League semifinals – making 47 official appearances for the Nerazzurri. In total, he played nearly 200 matches in Italian football.

Almeida on Barcelona’s resurgence under Flick: “I wasn’t surprised. Great players always come to Barcelona. It was a very good decision. He has attracted a group of young players with admirable talent. His approach is direct football – fast, technical, physically prepared, and clinical. With the team play Flick builds, along with individual quality… victories bring joy and confidence, which leads to growth. Players and fans are getting closer again, with the same happiness they were accustomed to during Messi’s era.”

Almeida on Inter’s strategy against Barcelona: “What is Barcelona’s best quality? To prevent passes from reaching attackers, you must close the midfield. Inter must play in a way that Barcelona’s midfielders cannot easily receive the ball. They must be harassed. After that, Barcelona tries to recover the ball very quickly when they lose it.

Inter sometimes passes so much that if they don’t exaggerate and make calculated moves, they can find space on the opposite side. I don’t think Barcelona has the necessary speed to play with a very high defensive line. If Inter sits back and lets Barcelona play, Barcelona will score. Inter must keep the game away from their own goal.”

He added about key points of the clash: “I don’t know if everything will remain open until the return leg. We’ll see what happens. Much depends on the early minutes. If Barcelona concedes early, Inter will sit back and can be pure poison for Barcelona with counterattacks.”