FCBARCELONA.CAT

11.02.2007 17:56

Rijkaard "the team is improving"

Victory against Racing has come with the best Ronaldinho, the return of Messi and a great performance form Valdes. A great team display, which has brought about Rijkaard to say: "the team is improving".

One of the most important moments of the game was the penalty save from Victor Valdes. "Valdes' save was fundamental. Following the save, the team went looking for the win". Apart from the penalty, the coach highlighted that in general "Everybody played well".

Everyone played a part

It was not just Valdes who received praise from Rijkaard. Oleguer said in the few minutes he played "it worked well"; Messi, who came back after three months on the sidelines, was seen "very well; and Ronnie, who "played another important game, demonstrated again why he is so important for the team".

Despite the victory, Rijkaard added "it took a lot of effort in marking the difference", because Racing "played a very organized game". Questioned about what lies ahead for the blaugrana, with La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions league, Rijkaard expressed his delight "we can play in diverse competitions".

Appreciation for the basketball team

With a few minutes left on the clock at Camp Nou, more thsan 70,000 fans started to sing 'Campeones, Campeones!'. They were not referring to the current league champions but to Winterthur FC Barcelona, who had just won the Copa del Rey. Rijkaard said "I'm happy for the basketball team. It was a double sensation because it means both Barça teams are at a high level".