FCBARCELONA.CAT

01.08.2008 19:03

Guardiola wants utmost prudence and respect

David Saura (enviat especial)

Pep Guardiola does not want the team’s theoretical superiority to get the better of them in their Champions League qualifier and wants to see the utmost prudence and respect towards whichever team they play.

In his brief evaluation, the Barça manager repeated three times that Barça will have to show respect for the team they play in their all-important Champions League third round qualifier. “If this was November we could approach this game in a more relaxed way, but this is just the start and that makes it so much harder”, he said in reference to the game. “Wherever we go it will one of the season’s most important matches.”

Well practiced opponents

Asked about Wisla Krakow and Beitar Jerusalem (one of which will play Barcelona), he was honest. “I don’t know them, I haven’t seen them yet, but whichever side it is we’ll have to show them the utmost respect and be prudent. We haven’t done much work, while they have already played one round”.

Asked about the apparent inferiority of the opposition compared to what Barça could have had (Galatasaray, Dynamo Kiev or Sparta Prague), Guardiola said Barça had to be careful they were not caught napping. “My job is to stop the players from relaxing. Against stronger teams, you always have the advantage that the players are fully focused on the game.”

Past experience

Still speaking of caution, the Barça boss said “my experience of playing the qualifying rounds three times with Barça is that they were all very difficult matches. It is a good idea to take them as seriously and prudently as possible.”

Pleased with developments

But what Pep Guardiola is really worried about right now is his own team. “I want them to get the feeling that we are depending on ourselves and that we have to get things done properly … I am happy with the way the team is working so far.” The Barça boss is also glad the game is on the 13th and not the day before. “That’s good news” he said, because “we gain a day to get over the jetlag, which is perhaps the biggest worry I had. We will have an extra day to recover and that’s better for us.”