FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.04.2007 14:19

“The only result I care about is our own”

Frank Rijkaard wants a positive result from the trip to Villarreal, and knows that is more important than anything the other teams might or might not achieve. “We only need to worry about ourselves and present a positive image” he said.

Barça will defend their league leadership at the Madrigal on Sunday night. Barça are the only team in the league title chase whose destiny is in their own hands and Rijkaard says “The only result I care about is ours. The Madrigal is a difficult ground to go to and that worries me a lot more than anything any of our rivals do. The most important thing is that we are working to achieve something. There are very few teams that play the same way for three years. We are doing everything we can to make our fans happy”.

Ronaldinho and Márquez

After following an individual training plan, Ronaldinho is back in the squad to face Villarreal. Says Rijkaard “he has worked hard and is ready to play. But I don’t know how minutes that will be for”, later adding that “Ronnie has regained his strength and is in a much better mood. Now he is very keen to take part”. Márquez, meanwhile, had been left out of the side for Sunday’s league match, a decision explained by the manager as being because “I have given him a bit of a rest, it’s also a preventative measure”.

Pellegrini’s Villarreal

The side from Castellón are twelfth in the league, and face Barça on the back of defeats to Atlético Madrid and Getafe. Villarreal are also without Riquelme, who is on loan to former club Boca Juniors, but Frank Rijkaard knows that there will be no chance to relax against the ‘Yellow Submarine’. “Riquelme was an important player at Villarreal” he said. “And some of the team’s most important players have suffered injuries. But Pellegrini has a lot of talent in his squad, a lot of class. And against what are bigger teams on paper, they have a way of playing by memory. They have enough strengths to get a good result”.

Saviola’s future

The FC Barcelona coach also spoke about the comments made yesterday by Argentinian ace Javier Saviola. “I understand what Javier means”, said Rijkaard. “He has commented that he is open to other possibilities. And he has every right. But I think Barça will make him an offer and then we’ll see what happens. Saviola is good enough to play for Barça”.