FCBARCELONA.CAT

27.10.2008 15:13

“You have to go for every title and every game”

Berta Brau

Guardiola says he thinks the Spanish Cup is very important and wants “to get across the idea to the players that this is an important game” in which they will have to be very careful.

This Tuesday Barcelona are away at Benidorm in the first leg of their last 32 Spanish Cup tie. For Pep Guardiola both the game and the tournament are “very important”. “You have to go for all titles and all games,” he argued. “No game is more important than the rest, and no competition is more important than the rest.”

Modest favourites

“Of course we’re favourites, but we are respecting our opponents and taking it seriously,” said the Barça manager. “I want to get across the idea to the players that this is an important game.” He thinks that Benidorm will make life difficult so the team will have to be very careful, as it wouldn’t be the first time a Second Division B giant killer had downed a First Division side. “If we don’t start well and do things properly, they’ll make it very hard for us,” he warned.

Two reserves

Nolito and Abraham from the reserves have been called up as Guardiola rests Valdés, Márquez, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. “I have a lot of faith and belief in the players in the squad,” he said. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have called them up.”

Guardiola thinks that both teams will “try to play football as Benidorm has its weapons and players who can and want to play good football. I hope the local fans get to see a good game.”

Keeping feet on the ground

“Winning nine on the bounce is great but it’s not easy to do,” pointed out Guardiola. “In fact it’s a little unreal, so you’ve got to make sure you keep your feet on the ground and take each game as it comes.” For Guardiola the key is finding out what the side is doing right in order to keep on doing it, as there is still a lot of the season left to go.

Five crucial games

Today’s press conference also looked at developments in the League. Guardiola said that the club’s fixtures with Almeria, Malaga, Valladolid, Recreativo and Getafe immediately prior to four with the League’s strongest teams are crucial: “They are massive games. We began well against Almeria and we’ve got to keep on plugging away. If we get our preparations right we can win those games.”