Barcelona boss rank Rijkaard has tried to play down the growing animosity between Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and the Barca fans.

The Chelsea manager was abused as he arrived at Barcelona airport on Sunday, and Rijkaard feels that this is not acceptable behaviour.

“I saw what happened to Mourinho at the airport on the TV and heard about it on the radio,” he said.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our supporters to demonstrate to the world that we can respect our opponents.

“We had a player [Samuel Eto’o] abused and insulted recently and did not like it, so I don’t want our fans to insult and abuse Mourinho.

Barca boss Rijkaard condemned the hostile reception the Chelsea boss, who used to be on the coaching staff at Barca, received.

“I felt very bad about what happened,” said the Dutchman.

“Mourinho has achieved a great deal in his career, he is one of the best coaches in the world and he has a past with Barcelona.

“I want our fans to cheer him because he is a great coach.”

He added: “We have a chance to stop the aggression and abuse and show we can have some humanity.”

Meanwhile, teenage prodigy Lionel Messi is being tipped by Rijkaard to produce the goods tonight. Mourinho accused Messi of diving in the first leg and the Argentinian plans to exact revenge this evening.

“Messi is not troubled at all,” said Rijkaard. “In fact it is extra motivation for him. He is calm and ready for the match.

“We definitely have the advantage. The result is in our favour and we definitely want to go through to the next round.

“We have the confidence and we think we can do the job.”

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