Xavi and Srna, familiar faces
Xavi Hernández and Darijo Srna will be facing each other as managers for the first time on Wednesday, but the Catalan and Croatian have crossed paths in the past with the ball at their feet. As players at the same clubs they now manage, they met four times, with Xavi winning three and the Croat taking the other.
Xavi at Barça and Srna at Shakhtar
Srna's name is synonymous with Shakthar in much the same way that Xavi's is with Barça. The first time they came face to face was in 2004 in the Champions League group stage, when the Ukrainians stunned Camp Nou with a 2-0 win.
The sides met again in 2008, but this time Barça were victorious 2-1 and went on to lift the trophy in Rome.
Shakhtar went on to win the Europa League that season, so the clubs met again in the European Super Cup. Barça won that 1-0.
And the final time that the two players came face to face was in the 2011 Champions League quarter finals, which Barça comfortably won 6-1 on aggregate and went on to lift the trophy once again.
International meeting
Xavi and Srna also met while playing for Spain and Croatia at the 2012 European Championship. The group stage match ended 1-0 to La Roja, and Spain went on to win the trophy for the third time. There's a pattern emerging here. Every time Xavi beat Srna on the pitch, his team went on to win the trophy in question. Could history repeat itself again in 2023/24? Let's hope so!