Speaking to the media before tomorrow night’s game at the Nou Camp, Pep Guardiola warned that Manuel Pellegrini’s Malaga: “have a lot of experienced players”. He also ruled out signing a replacement for Milito if he leaves.
Barça finish the first half of the season this Sunday against a Malaga team who have spent heavily
in the winter transfer window. Despite all the new faces, Pep reckons he knows what to expect:
“we have kept an eye on them – they are managed by a top trainer and they have
strengthened the team with very experienced players such as Demichelis, Baptista or Maresca”.
Caution
Guardiola also praised other Malaga players – the youngster
Camacho and the speedy Eliseu- and insisted that they had “a squad full of depth –
they’ve spent a a lot on players and that means they are obliged to do well, we’ll have
to play with a lot of concentration. Manuel Pellegrini’s teams always play well and that will
be what they are coming here to do: play good football and win. He’s a manager who has always
caused Barça problems”.
Excellent first half to the season
Looking back over the first half of the campaign, Pep declared himself “well
satisfied, especially with the way the players have behaved. If you want to keep on winning you
have to have self respect and enthusiasm. We have the chance to take more points than ever in this
first half of the season and then to continue growing and improving. You always want to play at
your best and to win as many points as possible, but it’s hard to take in that after the slip
ups against Hèrcules and Mallorca that we could be on 52 points half way through the
campaign”.
Milito and Alves
Pep explained that Gaby Milito had: “asked to leave so that he
could get in more game time. I’m planning the next few weeks with the idea that he is here
with us, and I hope he is. Today he remains an important player for us and he knows that I and the
club as a whole will support him in every way we can. However, if he does leave, which I hope he
doesn’t, I’ll stick with the players that are left”.
As to Alves’ future, Guardiola commented: “I know that it’s both his and
the club’s intention that he stays here for many more years. The most normal thing would be
that everything stays as it is and I hope that both parts can sort it out”.
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Focus on Malaga, then Betis, then Racing…
One atrea Guardiola refused to be drawn on was his own contract: “right now I’m
focussed on Malaga, and then the Cup game against Betis and then then Racing….”. His
players have been coming out and demanding he stays on and Pep quipped: “they’d better
not say anything else! Let them suck up to to me -that’s what they should do!”