04.01.2011 14:02

Guardiola: “It’s an all or nothing game”

Roger Bogunyà

Guardiola wants to stay in the cup, and so they’ll be giving everything they can on Wednesday. He knows that the first leg result and the atmosphere in Bilbao are factors that merely add to the motivation among his players.

As he says “San Mamés is a game with that added extra. We expect a packed stadium. That doesn’t mean we underestimate other games, we don’t do that. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have achieved what we have”. He’s right, the 0-0 at the Camp Nou has got the people of Bilbao excited and this Wednesday’s match promises to be very special.

Two versions

Guardiola is aware there is a chance they could get knocked out, but he’s not going to speak about that unless it happens. “At 10.00 we will be trying to qualify, and at 12.00 we can talk about what’s happened” he said.

If the team does qualify, they will have four games in two weeks. “I prefer to play midweek” he said. “Because it’s better to play in three competitions than two. We want to play on because it’s always lovely to play in the final”.

But if Barça go out “we will have more days to rest. That’s no problem, because last season, without the cup, we got 99 points in the league and go to the semi finals of the Champions League”.

No memories of Sevilla

Guardiola added that the starting keeper in San Mamés will be Pinto, and when asked about the way Barça went out of the cup last season to Sevilla, he said “that game is forgotten. He also pointed out that the 3-1 win away to Bilbao earlier this season “counts for nothing.” This will be a different game for both seasons and all Pep is thinking about is working hard to get another win.

Puyol, Messi and Afellay

Guardiola also spoke about his team choices. “All 20 players picked have a chance.” Puyol is coming back from injury, and so “he might play the 90 minutes, he might play 45, he might watch from the stands. But I wanted him to travel”. Messi has only trained twice since returning, so he will decide on Wednesday whether to play him. As for Afellay, who has been picked for the first time, the manager had only positive words to say. “He has been a nice surprise. He looks good. He still has to learn the language to be able to communicate, but my first sensations are good ones.”