FCBARCELONA.CAT
Main menu
Content menu
Football
10.05.2007 23:55
Rijkaard accepts defeat
Vanessa Forns
Manager Frank Rijkaard has accepted the 4-0 Cup semi-final second leg defeat and has described the result as “one of the hardest I’ve ever experienced”.
Rijkaard was visibly upset when he spoke to reporters at the post match press conference and insisted: “This is one of the hardest nights I’ve ever experienced. I had the feeling of being incapable of doing anything. We haven’t got any excuses. We failed to react from the very first minute and we suffered a lot”.
Self criticism
“We left a very bad impression and I feel very bad, like all the players. We couldn’t do anything. We were incapable. It’s been a really hard night for all of us and a very tough blow”. Frank Rijkaard was, as always, gracious in defeat and expressed his congratulations to the Getafe players: “They deserved the victory because they played a great match”.
Shared responsibility
However, Rijkaard was also quick to deflect the blame away from his own players. “I believe we win and we lose all together. As the coach I have to accept my responsibility. We have to digest this defeat. In the world of sport there are [good and bad] moments and sometimes it’s complicated and you have to suffer”.
The search for pride
The important thing now is to recover from the great disappointment. “We have to mentalise ourselves to be able to react. We have to look for the pride that will allow us to keep on working and finish the season as well as possible”.
“We apologise to the membership”
In name of the whole squad, Frank Rijkaard apologised to the fans: “I want to apologise to
the membership who I’m sure will be very disappointed”. Asked what message he would
like to send to the fans ahead of Sunday’s match in the Camp Nou against Betis, Rijkaard
expressed himself clearly. “It’s very important that we believe in ourselves.
We’ll do whatever’s possible to make them happy. The more united we are the more chance
we’ve got of doing something important”.
