A Barca-Bayern game to kick-start the club's future

The Champions League is back. This cup has generated so much unrest among Barca fans in recent years. The passion, emotion, glamour and spectacle is back. With a Barcelona vs Bayern that could see the Catalans avenge one of their most historic humiliations. It’s not pure revenge, though, given that Messi is gone, Griezmann is gone, Luis Suarez is gone. Quique Setien is gone. Bartomeu, the president, is gone.

That Barca-Bayern was a sad end to a project that had been languishing for years. This game is the start of a new era, that we don’t know exactly how it will pan out. Koeman has various absences in attack, with Braithwaite, Ansu, Aguero and Dembele sidelined. All he’s got up front is Memphis and Luuk de Jong.

Memphis holds a lot of Barca’s hope. He could be the fans’ new idol. His personality and goals can win them over. And the Bayern game would be a great place to start. He has seven goals for club and country in six games this season.

He will likely partner Luuk de Jong, who arrived in the last minute of the window. They know each other from the national team and PSV. Now under Koeman, they must find a way to beat Manuel Neuer. Bayern is a grand test of fire. For those forwards, but also a team that wants to forget the disastrous past and start a hopeful future.