We must not fear Barca, says De Boer

Frank de Boer has told his Ajax side to show no fear when they come up against a star-studded Barcelona attack on Wednesday.

The Dutch champions welcome the Spanish giants to the Amsterdam Arena in the UEFA Champions League knowing a defeat could see them eliminated from Group F.

Barcelona won the reverse clash 3-1 a fortnight ago and boast a stellar forward line of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

However, coach De Boer believes his team should take confidence from a 2-1 victory over the Catalans in Amsterdam in last season’s group stages.

“You always have to show respect [to your opponents] but that doesn’t mean you need to fear them,” he said.

“We showed last year [against Barcelona] that we can play against top teams. I want to see confidence from my team tomorrow.

“The most important thing is that we keep playing as a team and someone is always close to [Lionel] Messi. They shouldn’t be afraid to play against Messi, Suarez or Neymar.”

For Suarez the match marks a return to a club where he spent three-and-a-half years, scoring 111 goals in 159 games before moving to Liverpool in January 2011.

De Boer added: “I think it will be emotional for Suarez to come back to the Arena to play his first UEFA Champions League match [this season].”