FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.03.2010 14:10

Big week ahead

Anna Segura

Josep Guardiola is fully focussed on the league campaign as he prepares his team for Sunday’s trip to Zaragoza. With three games in seven days, there’s a lot at stake this week, as he explained to the media on Saturday lunchtime.

Barca play Zaragoza, Osasuna and Mallorca this week and Guardiola knows that they are three games that could mark his team’s bid to retain their title, with 9 of the 36 points left in the competition up for grabs in seven days : “ there’s a quarter of the title at stake and we have two tricky trips”. Guardiola again insisted: “there’s more value in winning the league this season that getting to the Bernabeu for the Champions League final”.

Now is the time

The boss warned: “we have to make the effort today, we can’t leave it till later”, following the wins against Valencia and Stuttgart, Guardiola also expressed his wish that: “we can continue the good form we showed in those games”.

Messi to travel to Zaragoza

Guardiola revealed that Leo Messi, who missed training this morning: “didn’t feel too good. He’ll make the trip to Zaragoza and we’ll see how he is” Guardiola also insisted on the need for rotation in his team as: “we’re going to be playing a game every three or four days from now on”, whilst denying his team were overly dependent on the Argentinean: “we’re better with him in the team, but we can do it without him as well.

Messi knows he can’t do it all on his own, but a player like him has to be involved in everything. Leo is aware that he can only express his talent thanks to his teammates”.

A classic

Guardiola played plenty of times at La Romareda, but this is his first visit as a manager and he was clearly looking forward to the occasion: “this is a classic in the Spanish League. It’s good that they are back in the top flight. They are enjoying some good form and we are playing them at the worst possible moment as far as their season goes”.