Oleguer Presas has told a press conference that he has trained alone for a week due to some minor but niggling injuries he has had for some time.
He is not overly concerned with the way the fixture list has panned out and feels the team simply
needs to adapt to it.
Presas explained that he has been training on his own this week “because after all the
games I have played, there are a few small things that have been bothering me for some time. The
doctors and fitness coaches thought it would be a good idea to lighten my workload a bit.”
Adapting to fixtures
Following the international break, Barça have eight games in just 25 days. Oleguer sees no
reason to panic, saying “both ourselves and the fitness coaches work hard to plan for the
overloaded fixtures and we hope to be able to cope. We have to adapt to the fixture list and try to
make sure we don’t have to use it as an excuse.”
The Rally affair
The Barça defender was also asked about the
controversial incident in which he rode in Xevi Pons’ rally car during the build up to the
RACC Costa Daurada 2007, but did so without getting prior permission from the Club. Oleguer feels
the press response to the incident was over the top and explained how he believes that “the
Club has said that if I had asked them for permission, they would have given it to me. I think the
only problem was that I didn’t mention it beforehand, but I didn’t think about it. We
once did an activity like that at the Circuit de Catalunya and these things don’t involve any
risk. You are well equipped, in very safe and fully protected cars. That’s why I didn’t
think of asking.”
“I don’t know if I broke the internal code because I have not got it and
don’t know it. If the captains have it, I’m sure we’ll get it soon, and then
we’ll be able to comment.”
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International effect
Asked how he felt the international schedule affects several Barça players, Oleguer made his point
more than clear. “Of course they have an effect” he said. “It is hard to get
ready for a game in just one day, isn’t it? But we’re used to it, we have to get over
it and we have done many times. It affects you because you can’t work with the full group. We
work hard here but we can’t work as a group and that affects you because football is a team
sport, and to prepare properly for a game, you need all your players.”