FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.12.2009 20:58

Puyol: "We can make history"

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Speaking to reporters after the semi-final victory against Atlante (1-3), the Barça captain outlined his hopes for next Saturday’s final.

Carles Puyol, the linchpin of Barça’s back line, expressed his satisfaction at the team’s performance and especially their ability to come back from an early goal: “We were trying to win from the very first minute but we found ourselves a goal down. There’s always the unexpected. They played out from defence and passed long, which made it difficult for us”.

The Final

Puyol is optimistic about Barça’s chances in the Final against Estudiantes de La Plata: “The team is working well. It’s a very important final because we can make history. We have to recover our strength”.

Here are some of the post-match comments from the rest of the team:

Pedro:

"It was difficult at first but we deserved to win".

"I really enjoyed scoring. I had it in mind because it was a challenge that nobody had ever achieved”.

"I’m grateful for the work of my team-mates".

"I’m happy both for the goal and for the win".

"The Final will be difficult but we’ll be focussed on closing a perfect year".

"Things are happening so fast. I’m happy and relaxed".

Ibrahimovic:

"It was a difficult match. Playing from 1-0 down is complicated but we were patient”.

"I saw Messi looking for space. I made the pass and it arrived perfectly”.

"We’re in the Final and we’ll do everything to win".

"We haven’t won the match yet".

"It doesn’t matter who scores; the important thing is to score".

Alves:

"A final is always special".

"We’ll keep an eye on Verón because he controls their game".

"We want to win the final but it’s fifty-fifty".

"I get on well with the Argentines but this is a final and in finals there are no friends".

"I hope it’s third time lucky".

"I hope we take our chance because it’s difficult to get there".

"We have a winning spirit".

Iniesta:

"The goal unsettled us but the equalizer brought things back to normal and we controlled the match”.

"Estudiantes are a good team. We need to play the 90 minutes at a good standard”.

"We know some of the players. Over the next three days we’ll find out more about them”.

"It’s eleven men against eleven men in a final. They’re one of the best teams in Argentina. That’s more than enough to take it seriously”.

"I don’t know if the injury was the result of a knock or if I overloaded the thigh during the match”.

Sergio:

"it was hard for us but now we’re in the Final”.

"They were more in the match in the opening minutes".

"I’m very happy to help the team".

"I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time".

Valdés:

"It was a very difficult match. They tried to control the ball ".

"Apart from their star, Verón, Estudiantes have a good goalkeeper, an organized defence and some very fast players”.

"Pedro is breaking records. I’m very happy for him”.