Sylvinho says Barça has to keep on working hard in all three competitions. The Brazilian full-back admitted that “we didn’t expect to cut the gap by so many points in just one month.”
The thrashing of Levante which has brought Barça to within two points of League leaders Real Madrid
has boosted morale among the players even more. Recent results and the way the team has been
playing are cause to be optimistic, though the players themselves have never felt any other way.
“We’ve always believed in ourselves,” said Sylvinho at today’s press
conference. “Whether we’re nine points behind or just two like now, we have to believe
in what we’re doing.” However, the Barça defender did admit that “we didn’t
expect to cut the gap by so many points in just one month, even though we know the League is a long
campaign and all the games are tough.”
Spectacular football
The team appears to have discovered how to play spectacular football again. Experienced
players like Sylvinho know what it’s all about. “Results affect how a team develops.
You can play well but if you lose you get slated and football is a game that goes in spells.”
He went on to say that “we’re an attacking side and we take risks, but that’s the
way we’ve always played.”
Pressure on Madrid
Sylvinho said he hadn’t watched Madrid slip up against
Getafe live. “It’s not easy being on top,” he said, “as you have to play
knowing that someone else is after you.” Despite not seeing what happened with Uche’s
goal, he thinks that “it’s hard to picture, but I would say it’s more a case of
quick thinking by Getafe than poor play by Madrid.”
Now the Cup
Barça are playing matches with barely a break at the moment, and on Wednesday it’s the
turn of the King’s Cup when they take on Valencia in the Camp Nou in the first leg of the
semi-final. “We’re playing for all three titles in 9 or 10 days. There’s still
three months to go and each game is a final,” he said. “We need to take a different
approach with the Cup and the Champions League.”
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Wants to go on for “10 years”
Sylvinho, 33, finishes his contract with Barça on 30 June. Speaking at the end of the press
conference, he playfully claimed that “I want to go on for another ten years; four or five
years as full-back and six as a midfielder.” More seriously he then added that he is open to
offers to renew his contract and that he hopes to play “for another three years at the
top”.