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26.03.2007 08:00
“What interest me most are titles”
He may still be young, but he has the attitude of a veteran. Víctor Valdés is already being considered one of Barcelona’s finest goalkeepers ever. But it is not statistics that interest him, it is titles.
Valdés has been Barcelona’s first choice stopper for four seasons, and his career has gone hand in hand with the side’s brilliant progress under Frank Rijkaard. He has been constantly improving over the years, and has successfully overcome all the obstacles that have been put in his way. Only five goalkeepers in the entire history of the club have made more first team appearances than Valdés, and those were such legendary figures as were Zubizarreta, Ramallets, Sadurní, Artola and Velasco.
But Valdés does not want to be remembered for his individual appearances, he wants to be remembered for the titles his team has won. And in that respect he is as ambitious as ever, as he explained in an exclusive interview with fcbarcelona.cat and Barça TV.
- At 25 years of age, it could be said that you are still at the beginning of your career, yet you are already one of the goalkeepers that has played the most matches for FC Barcelona.
- “The press likes to point this out to me, but it is not something I am overly concerned about. I still have a long way to go, I hope, and what I really want is to be remembered for the titles I win, not the number of games I play.”
- I don’t know if you are interested, but you have
nearly reached 200 official appearances, and still have many years left in you.
“I have looked after myself, and I hope I still have a long career ahead of me. And I would like to see out my career here at Barça, but there is a long time still to go. I have to be prudent and take things step by step.”
- Do you feel that this is the best moment of your career so far, and that you are appreciated more than ever?
-“I cannot say that this is the best moment, because there is still a lot ahead of me. But these are great times both for the team and for me individually. We have had some successful moments, and still are. And as for the fans, I have always felt loved.”
- When you look back on when you first started out with the first team, how do you feel you have improved the most?
-“I many ways, but there are still things I need to improve. Technically, I owe a lot to Juan Carlos Unzué, who has done the most to bring out the best in me and correct what was wrong, and polish things off. But his main achievement is what he has done with me psychologically, he has helped change my character and to set the kind of targets that he shares with me.”
- Do you feel that the position of goalkeepers is changing, and how?
-“I think football is getting better all over. Nowadays we have access to far more methods than we used to, and that is very important in the way players train. Goalkeepers can get a lot out of the way new way teams train, and we can’t complain, because here at Barça we have got everything.”
- You will play Getafe in the cup semi finals, and this is
the only tournament that the current Barça has never won.
-“ Getafe are having a good season and it will be a tough match. We are at home in the first match and we will need to get a good result. The Copa del Rey is very important to us, we value it as highly as a European Cup, and it is a trophy we can win. If we win the League and Cup, that would be great for us.”
- But Jorquera plays in cup matches, do you find it tough watching games from the bench?
-“You suffer just the same, especially when you’re not winning. Goalkeepers suffer for many reasons whether they are on the pitch or on the bench.”
- What do you think when you hear so much talk of the system the team uses? Do you think there is too much talk depending on the results?
-“I think the 3-4-3, when we used it for the first time against Zaragoza, attracted a lot of attention because the Dream Team played like that. I think it’s a good system for us to use as long as we have the ball. 4-3-3 is the system we have always used with Rijkaard.”
- Does it affect the way you play?
-“Yes, if we play with a free 3-4-3 the defence is a bit nearer to the area and that means I don’t have to come out so much in order to cover the space between the defence and the goal. It’s different with a 4-3-3, because the defence moves forward and there are more spaces between the keeper and the defence.”
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“In the league, we’re depending on ourselves”
- It’s the run in to the end of the season and the league is more open than it has
been for five years with 4 sides that can aspire to the title.
-“What’s clear is that our fate in our own hands. The fixture list is favourable to us and we need to take things step by step as we have done in other seasons. True, the league is more irregular in terms of results, and that’s why we are coming to the end with everything so much more even.”
- This group’s experience of the last few years has to be of help.
- “No, because any team can cause you problems, you can go to some grounds that from outside may look like easy places to win or vice versa. There have been a lot of surprises in this league but we are aware that our destiny is in our own hands.”
- You hadn’t won away for four months but are still top of the table. That shows how even this league is and perhaps people have over-dramatised some things.
- “Could be. If you don’t win you should expect criticism because people always want us to win home and away. The Huelva result was a good one for us because we had ten days after it without any games and people can say a lot of things in that time, and it is much better for the atmosphere to be favourable.”
- And your direct rivals still have to play each other, and that gives you a certain advantage.
-“It is an advantage as long as we win our games. Yes, they do still have to face each other but we have to win our games, and it won’t be easy. In theory it’s an advantage, but let’s see what happens.”
-“What’s clear is that our fate in our own hands. The fixture list is favourable to us and we need to take things step by step as we have done in other seasons. True, the league is more irregular in terms of results, and that’s why we are coming to the end with everything so much more even.”
- This group’s experience of the last few years has to be of help.
- “No, because any team can cause you problems, you can go to some grounds that from outside may look like easy places to win or vice versa. There have been a lot of surprises in this league but we are aware that our destiny is in our own hands.”
- You hadn’t won away for four months but are still top of the table. That shows how even this league is and perhaps people have over-dramatised some things.
- “Could be. If you don’t win you should expect criticism because people always want us to win home and away. The Huelva result was a good one for us because we had ten days after it without any games and people can say a lot of things in that time, and it is much better for the atmosphere to be favourable.”
- And your direct rivals still have to play each other, and that gives you a certain advantage.
-“It is an advantage as long as we win our games. Yes, they do still have to face each other but we have to win our games, and it won’t be easy. In theory it’s an advantage, but let’s see what happens.”
