FCBARCELONA.CAT

24.04.2008 13:14

Márquez: "This is the team that all we want"

Vanessa Forns

Rafa Márquez was delighted with the attitude and character shown by FC Barcelona in their Champions League semi final first leg against Manchester United on Wednesday. "This is the team that we all want to see," he said.

The Blaugrana trained on Thursday morning to recover and the Mexican international attended the press conference to reflect on the game from the previous night. "I am happy about the performance," Márquez explained. "Whoever did not go home happy did not see the game. All the players gave everything they could. In reality it was a question of character and effort and we did well."

Maintaining form

With the tie now carefully balanced, Márquez saw no reason why Barça cannot go to Old Trafford next week and qualify. "If we manage to play like that and to maintain that level then we can earn a good result," he stated. When asked why the team had not been able to play like that at other decisive moments in the season, Márquez pointed to the injury list that Frank Rijkaard had to deal with. "There is nothing that we can do about that now though and we just have to look forward. All we should be thinking about is how to play at the same level as we did against United."

Confident view

The only thing that Barcelona were missing from the match against United was a goal and Márquez admitted that he regretted that the team could not find a way past Edwin Van der Sar, but sought positives in the Blaugrana's clean sheet. "To not have conceded a goal has its advantages. After all, the only thing that was missing from our game was a goal. We have plenty of chances and just needed a bit more luck. I am confident that we can obtain a good result at Old Trafford."

Surprise tactics

Márquez then admitted that he was surprised by Manchester United's defensive display because he had been expecting the visitors to use all their forwards to really test Barça. "Manchester United are a team of great quality and it surprised me a lot that put so many players behind the ball and did not look to go forward more," he said. "After seeing their team line-up I thought that they would come at us, but it was completely the opposite. It was better for us that way."

A different approach

After the negative outlook in Camp Nou, Márquez believes that the Red Devils will be very different in the second game. "In England we will see a very different Manchester United," he continued. "They will come out to put pressure on us and try to not let us play. Also, their fans being behind them will help them."