FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.10.2008 14:24

Piqué: “You win Leagues with games like the one yesterday”

Anna Segura

Barça defender Gerard Piqué says that the three points gained away at Bilbao are very important, not only because the sides at the top of the table are also winning but because San Mamés has always been a tough ground for Barça.

Sunday’s win against Athletic Bilbao was not only Barça’s fifth League triumph in a row but also brought three points at a ground where Barça have traditionally found it hard to get a result. “You win Leagues with games like the one yesterday,” said Gerard Piqué at today’s press conference

Keeping up

Plus the three points help Barça to keep up with other title contenders. “If the other sides keep winning, you have to as well,” the defender pointed out.

Starting XI in last four

Gerard Piqué is gradually finding his feet in Josep Guardiola’s team, and was in the starting line-up for the fourth match in a row at San Mamés. “I came here to help the team and play as much as possible,” he commented, “and I’m just proud that I can do that”.

Piqué admitted that being in Barça’s starting XI was not easy. “There’s lots of competition and we have some great players,” he said. “But I work hard every day, the team works hard and the boss has faith in me.”

Valdés best keeper for Barça

In Piqué’s view, “Víctor Valdés was superb” against Bilbao. “He should be Barça’s keeper for a long time to come, and he’s been showing that for ages,” he argued.

Memories of Basle

A Barça fan since he was a kid, Gerard Piqué also talked about this week’s trip to Basle, a city which is a key part in Barcelona’s history. Though he hadn’t been born when Barça won the Cup Winners’ Cup there in 1979, the defender described the Swiss city as “a very important place for the club” and recalled the enormous number of fans who went to that final. “In some ways the new Barça began there, and has since grown to become one of the great sides in the Champions League,” he said.