FCBARCELONA.CAT

08.12.2009 11:47

Txiki: “This is the most important game of the season”

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Barca's European hopes for the rest of this season depend on the game in Kiev and Txiki Begiristain insisted before flying out to Ukraine with the squad this morning that it is the most important of the season so far.

Before setting off for Kiev, Txiki Begiristain spoke to reporters and expressed his confidence heading into the game: “the team's okay and confident. This is a really important game – the most important of the season so far. Our first big objective has to be sorted in Kiev”.

Inter game a reference

Begiristain cited the team's last Champions League performance as an example of how the team need to play in Kiev: “we played an exceptional game that night and that is how we have to play. If we don't we know we can face problems, as we did against Rubin Kazan or against Dynamo at the Nou Camp, even though we won 2-0”.

Tough group

For Txiki, the fact that as the stage reaches its final games, all four teams in the group could still qualify just shows how difficult this group was: “ we've seen game after game just how tough this group was, as we pointed out when the draw was made. Every game has been difficult. Maybe the easiest was actually Inter's visit to the Nou Camp when we played so well”.

Pitch more of a worry than the cold

The low temperatures the team can expect on Wednesday are less of a worry for Begiristain than the pitch: “the state of the turf is the thing that is most important. To play our style of football we need the pitch to be in a good state. If that's okay, we can put up with the cold”.