Barcelona ready to travel to London from Tuesday

Posted Tuesday, May 24, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Barcelona’s Champions League preparations could be disrupted by an erupting Icelandic volcano for the second year running, with the club considering traveling to London for the final from Tuesday to avoid any complications.

The club will make a decision after receiving the latest information about the Grimsvotn volcano, with ash already causing delays to air travel in Scotland.

“I hope the volcano sleeps a little bit longer,” Guardiola said from Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium on Monday.

The volcano began spewing a dense cloud of ash on Saturday, forcing one airline to cancel nearly all of its flights and officials to consider airspace closures. The ash could reach Scottish airspace from Tuesday and affect other parts of Britain and Ireland later this week.

Barcelona planned to travel Thursday for Saturday’s game against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.

“What matters is what they tell us, whatever they say we’ll do with the maximum anticipation possible,” Guardiola said. “If they tell us we can’t risk the trip then we’ll travel tomorrow or the day after. If not, we’ll travel like we planned.

“We will not take any risks.”

Barcelona traveled to Italy by bus for last year’s Champions League semifinal at Inter Milan after an eruption at a different volcano closed European airspace. Barcelona lost the first leg and was eventually knocked out in the semifinals.

Guardiola dismissed the possibility that UEFA would consider moving the date of the final, and said the club would travel as close to London as possible and then drive if necessary.

“Let’s hope that the volcano doesn’t disrupt travel plans of all the fans who want to go,” Guardiola said. “That could be a handicap. It would be terrible to play a final where half of the stands are empty.”

In April 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull eruption grounded thousands of flights because officials were worried that ash could harm jet engines.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi didn’t seem too concerned about possible travel disruptions this year.

“It’s up to the coach to decide what we do,” the Argentina international said.