FCBARCELONA.CAT
Main menu
Content menu
Football
28.04.2009 23:59
“We’ll go to London with the same spirit”
Vanessa Forns
Guardiola says he’ll be sending his team to Stamford Bridge to play with the same spirit they showed at the Camp Nou. “We’ll go out and attack and score goals, that’s the way we understand football” he said.
The Barça manager added that it is on days like this “that you feel the happiest” in reference to the way his team played, and how his players “tried to do everything against one of the best teams in the world … Chelsea hardly crossed the half way line.” Following on in a similar vein, he said “I am proud, I have the feeling that I have nothing to take back. Whatever we do in this final stretch, I am sure that we won’t feel in remorse when we go on holiday”.
Chelsea’s ‘attacking’ football
Speaking about the Premiership side, Guardiola commented on how difficult it is to play against a team that just comes out to defend. “Chelsea are a very good team, very physical. We tried to move the ball around and unbalance things though Andrés or Messi. It was very hard to do that against this football, Drogba-Cech, Cech-Drogba, and a defence of up to six players. When one of the teams doesn’t want to play, it’s never easy. But we played a good game, despite everything, we just needed to score”.
Injury to Márquez, the downside
Undoubtedly the worst news of the night was the injury to
Rafa Márquez: “We have to wait for more news, but right now, until the end of the season,
he’s not with us. We can only cheer him up. I know these things make us stronger, without him
and without Puyol, Chelsea will be stronger”.
Thanks to the fans
Once again, the boss wanted to thank the fans, who stuck behind the team for all 90 minutes. “The Camp Nou crowd helped us more than ever. It is a real pleasure to play in front of a full stadium. From the bottom of my heart, I thank the people for their marvellous behaviour, they are like an extra player. I now they have their faith in us.”
The referee
Tonight, Chelsea committed 20 fouls and FC Barcelona just 7. Nevertheless, they both came out of the game with two yellow cards each. Guardiola feels this “reflects the whole season. We keep the ball, we try to attack, and we end up with more cards. What Ballack did to Iniesta was incredible. They have to make them look more at things like that. They keep fouling us and the first thing Andrés does they show him a card. These little things didn’t help us too much. We play clean. We get the ball and we attack. Yet we end up with the same yellow cards as they do. It’s not fair. It’s a conceptual problem”.
Laporta: “The team came out of it unrewarded”
Joan Laporta was impressed with the effort his side put into the game against Chelsea in the
Champions League semi final. “The team came out of it unrewarded, they put a lot of effort
into it”. The president also thanked the Camp Nou fans for their impressive and vocal
turnout, and said he had been impressed with the attack-minded approach to the game, and also spoke
about the defensive way Chelsea had dealt with the challenge. “We showed that we are a team
that always goes out in search of a win. But Chelsea played very defensively. It was as if they
didn’t want the ball, and left the initiative up to us”.
Speaking about the return leg at Stamford Bridge, Joan Laporta said “I hope the goals we didn’t get at the Camp Nou go in there instead”. Whatever happens, the Barça president is convinced that “we will win in London”, and added that the most positive aspect was that “they didn’t score against us … if we score at Stamford Bridge, it’ll make things very complicated for them”.
Finally, Joan Laporta commented on Saturday’s clásico at the Bernabéu: “The team with the most to play for is Madrid. If we draw or win, we’ll be in a great position in the league. Whatever happens, we’ll still be top. It’ll be a great game”.
Speaking about the return leg at Stamford Bridge, Joan Laporta said “I hope the goals we didn’t get at the Camp Nou go in there instead”. Whatever happens, the Barça president is convinced that “we will win in London”, and added that the most positive aspect was that “they didn’t score against us … if we score at Stamford Bridge, it’ll make things very complicated for them”.
Finally, Joan Laporta commented on Saturday’s clásico at the Bernabéu: “The team with the most to play for is Madrid. If we draw or win, we’ll be in a great position in the league. Whatever happens, we’ll still be top. It’ll be a great game”.
