Barcelona set to come up against two familiar faces in UCL clash against Feyenoord

Barcelona set to come up against two familiar faces in UCL clash against Feyenoord This season’s Champions League will bring several notable reunions between Barcelona and their opponents. The game against Como will see Cesc Fabregas and Alex Valle return to the Spotify Camp Nou, while Galatasaray’s Ilkay Gundogan will face his former Barcelona teammates. PSG provide the most star-studded reunion, with Luis Enrique, Lucas Digne, Pedro Fernandez ‘Dro’, Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Torres all set to come up against their former club. And, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo , Barcelona’s first Champions League opponent of the first season, Feyenoord , also have two figures with strong connections to the Catalan side: defender Mika Marmol and head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Mika Marmol’s Barcelona journey Marmol joined La Masia in 2018 and spent four years at Barcelona. He made just one competitive appearance, coming on in the 90th minute of a goalless draw away to Getafe under Xavi Hernandez in February 2022. Marmol then left Barça the subsequent summer to join Andorra. After an impressive season with the Catalan side, he earned a move to UD Las Palmas and made the step up to La Liga. Mika Marmol made one senior appearance for Barça. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) He spent two seasons in the top flight before Las Palmas were relegated in 2024/25. Last season, he played in LaLiga 2 and established himself as one of the division’s standout centre-backs. His performances earned him a move to Feyenoord this summer, and the 25-year-old defender has already made five official appearances for the Dutch club, featuring at centre-back and left-back. Van Bronckhorst’s successful Barcelona spell Van Bronckhorst joined Barcelona in the 2003/04 season on loan from Arsenal. His performances during that campaign convinced the Catalan club to make the move permanent. After going trophyless in his first season, the Dutch full-back won his first La Liga title with the Blaugrana the following year, scoring four goals in the process. He went on to add another league title, two Spanish Super Cups and the 2005/06 Champions League during his time in Catalonia. That Champions League triumph was particularly memorable because Barcelona defeated his former side Arsenal in the final. He left Barcelona for Feyenoord after the 2006/07 season. Van Bronckhorst during his time at Barcelona. (Photo by Luis Bagu/Getty Images) From Feyenoord player to manager Van Bronckhorst began his coaching career at Feyenoord, the club where he had enjoyed considerable success as a player. After working as an assistant and managing the reserve side, he took charge of the first team in 2015. During his first spell, he managed 176 matches before leaving in 2019 and won five trophies. The former left-back subsequently had a brief spell in Chinese football before managing Rangers in Scotland and Besiktas in Turkey. Last season, he joined Arne Slot’s coaching staff at Liverpool. Following Slot’s departure from the club, Van Bronckhorst returned to Feyenoord for a second spell as head coach. His return has started positively, with Feyenoord recording three wins and two draws from their first five matches.