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14.03.2010 22:18
Vilanova: “Messi makes it all a lot easier”
Vanessa Forns
Tito Vilanova, who took Pep Guardiola’s place on the touchline for the Valencia game, stressed that having Leo Messi, “the best player in the world”, in the team, made things a lot easier”.
Messi was undoubtedly the star of the game and as Vilanova explained: “when he plays more in the centre the defence really ahs to think a lot more. He’s very hard to stop down the middle and he enjoys playing there, that’s where he played as a child. He can do a lot of damage as he capable of moving either right or left”.
Henry
As well as Messi, Thierry Henry, who came on at half time, also made a
vital contribution. Vilanova explained that the French striker: “gave us more depth in attack
and allowed Messi more freedom of movement. We put more pressure on their back line when they tried
to bring the ball out and we had a better shape with him on the pitch, which had a big
effect”.
“Henry wanted to play and you could see that”
Tito Vilanova continued: “Henry is a player who we can use a lot
to give us depth and good use of the space up front. He prefers playing down the middle and he
really made his presence felt. He wanted to play and you could see that in his performance. Pep
said that he’d seen him at a high level in training this week and that he was feeling good.
He’s not had a lot of luck in front of goal of late and that had affected his confidence.
He’s been good in training and has shown that on the pitch tonight. If he stays like that
he’ll be a great help to us”.
Valencia “brave”
As to tonight’s rival Valencia, Vilanova reckoned: “they are a good team with one of the best attacks in Europe. They were brave and played a high risk game and pressured us high up the pitch”.
Communication with Guardiola
Vilanova also revealed that during the game he’d communicated
with Guardiola, but only concerning “small details. When Pep saw something he let us know
down on the bench and at half time he corrected a number of things which needed sorting”.
Laporta: “Messi - spectacular”
Not surprisingly, Club President Joan Laporta was also full of praise for Leo Messi: “he
was fantastic, spectacular, efficient. Leo deserves all the praise because the game was locked down
and he managed to undo their midfield and defence. He was very decisive. Valencia played well and
they made things hard for us, but we have a great team and we knew how to suffer and win out
there”.
Joan Laporta insisted on the importance of the win in Barca’s duel at the top with
Madrid: “they are three important points and the goals are important too. We are on the right
track”. As to Madrid’s exit from Europe, Laporta stressed that the club’s
attitude was one of “institutional respect. The Champions League is very competitive -
we’ll have to be very careful that the same thing doesn’t happen to us”.
Laporta returned to the star of the show and referred to Messi’s position as a UNICEF ambassador: “it’s recognition of a very talented player, he’s a genius, who remains humble and respectful of others at all times. That’s what makes him special. He’s a reference point and an example for everybody”.
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