FCBARCELONA.CAT

22.12.2007 20:58

Rijkaard highlights forward movement

Vanessa Forns

Frank Rijkaard has told his Barcelona players that they must pay special attention to Real Madrid's forward line when the two teams meet in Camp Nou on Sunday.

After the final training session the day before, the Dutch coach spoke in the press conference and warned about the dangers of los Merengues with particular reference to their forwards. "We have to ensure that we focus on the Real Madrid forwards because they move very around the pitch and work a lot for the team," he explained.

Going into deeper analysis about the Blaugrana rivals for the final game of the year, the coach continued: "They are a good team and are in a strong run of form because they are playing well." But the trainer was also keen to stress that the home team will also be "highly motivated" and "had a strong desire to obtain a good result".

Confidence is high

Reflecting on the spirit within the squad ahead of the game, Rijkaard indicated that he feels his players are "very animated and excited about playing a great game". In that sense, after training on Saturday evening he explained that "I have seen all the players in the squad are very focussed" and added that "our objective is to take all three points and I think we have the confidence to do that".

One doubt

After the preparatory session, the Blaugrana boss named a 19-man squad for the game because he believes that "there is a player that has a slight knock". Despite the fact that he preferred not to say which player it was he did confirmed that "it was not Ronaldinho".

Pleased with Ronaldinho

Rijkaard and Ronaldinho had a chat during Friday's training session, which was widely reported in the media, and the Dutchman did not think it there was anything unusual in it. "It is not strange and there is no problem with him," he said. "I often stop and speak to players during training". He then said that he "was happy" with Ronaldinho.

No clues

Finally, Rijkaard explained that he did not want to discuss what his side would be for the big game and that no clues should be taken from what happened during the week. "In general I have never chosen my line-up in a training game," he concluded.