FCBARCELONA.CAT

22.04.2008 11:32

Piqué: “I support Barça, but want to win”

Roger Bogunyà

Gerard Piqué could not hide the fact that he is still a Barcelona supporter even though on Wednesday evening he will be doing everything he can to help United to beat the Catalan outfit to earn an advantage in the Champions League semi finals.

"I am a Barça fan, but I will be wearing a Manchester United shirt and I want to win," he said. "I want Barça to win the league and normally every other competition they are in. But they are not playing their best at the moment. We know they have a great team and we will respect them, but at the same time we will not be afraid.”

Feeling confident

The Catalan defendere assured that United will be looking to win in Camp Nou. "We want a good result and we hope to score," he continued. "We are confident and after the last month with no defeats, we have high expectations."

Special feeling in Camp Nou

If he is picked to play in the first leg Piqué admitted that it would be "a special feeling" to play in Camp Nou because "all my family and friends will there". The youngster never played for Barça in their home stadium, but he has appeared there before. "I never did it with Barcelona, but I managed to last season with Zaragoza. I also did so when played for Catalunya against Argentina and I know there will be a fantastic atmosphere."

Piqué joined Barcelona in the 1997-98 season and made his way up through the youth ranks before leaving the club in 2003-04 to join United.

Messi: an old friend

One player that Piqué knows all about is Lionel Messi. "We were 14 years old and we played together," he explained. "He was small. Now he is still short but is very strong to go with it. It will be special to see him again. He has incredible talent and with his speed he is very difficult to stop."