FCBARCELONA.CAT

26.02.2007 16:13

“It was a shame not to score one more goal”

FC Barcelona’s Dutch manager was felt satisfied with his team’s performance, the image they put on and was especially impressed with the performances of Ronaldinho and Eto’o.

Rijkaard was extremely positive following the 3-0 demolishing of their Basque visitors, and congratulated his players saying that “the Camp Nou was grateful for the game they saw”. But he had no desire to draw any comparisons with the Champions League clash with Liverpool saying “Barça played well and if we keep working hard this can continue, but winning one game does not mean we can afford to stop working. The team has had its wake up call and has shown today that they are ready to fight for everything.”

The depth of Samuel Eto’o

The Barça coach did not mince his words in his praise for Samuel Eto’o. The Cameroonian was involved in all the goals, and Rijkaard joined in with the Camp Nou faithful in paying tribute to the star. “Samuel adds depth to the team” he said. “We had two players, him and Giuly, who did especially well. His presence, the way he plays, it attracts the opponent’s attention, and that means he passes the ball more. It was all good news.”

Still speaking about the recovered Eto’o, Rijkaard said he “put in a huge effort and now we need to go back and look at the way he is recovering. He had a serious injury and he might need more days than the others to recover from this. He needs to be protected because he is only human. He is very strong physically, but he hasn’t played for a long time.”

Thuram provides security

On a night of praise, Lilian Thuram also received good words from his boss: “Thuram is physically very good. He has come back from injury and did not want to play with the team until he was sure he was all right. His presence calms the team. It was a hard game for our defenders and they showed that they can control these situations. He is an important squad player.”

Pure Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho did everything but score, and Frank Rijkaard also singled him out for comments “I am delighted for Ronnie, of course” he said. “I hope they have taken some pictures of his body, because I think he is fine. He delights the crowd and we are so happy to have players of such level.”

Confident about cup

“The Zaragoza game will be interesting. It has nothing to do with the Liverpool match. The team has improved and some important players have recovered, so we will be able to go out there and cause a surprise”.