FCBARCELONA.CAT

11.08.2007 13:10

Rijkaard pleased with team’s attitude

David Saura / Anna Segura

Frank Rijkaard was highly satisfied with the way his team approached the match against the Mission Hills Invitation XI.

After the game in Hong Kong, the Barça manager said he was happy both with the way his team had played in Saturday’s match and throughout the Asian tour. “We worked with the right attitude and I like that”, he said. The players knew why they were here and did everything expected of them, but Rijkaard refuses to consider the game against Bayern Munich (Wednesday at 18:00) a ‘test’ but rather “these are just games and what we want to do is play them as well as we can”.

Carry on working

Having won every game and not conceded a single goal, not a lot more could have been asked of the team in Asia, but Rijkaard still sees room for improvement. “We have to keep working on creating pressure up front, but given the circumstances, and the heat and humidity, I understand what happened perfectly”.

A good test

Against the Mission Hills Invitation XI, the manager made a few changes to the side that faced Yokohama. Éric Abidal replaced Sylvinho, and Rijkaard commented that “this could be the basis for many games”, although “there is no definitive eleven”. He added that “the team was well organised on the pitch and didn’t give the opposition many chances”, and, “our attitude was good and we played as a team, It was a good test”.

The trident

Rijkaard fielded all three of his superstar forwards once again, and observed afterwards that, “some players are getting fitter and we have seen some goods things”. He also noted that “there was companionship on the pitch”, and commented that Samuel Eto'o had played a particularly good game.