FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.01.2010 23:01

Guardiola: “Runs like this show the team’s true nature”

Vanessa Forns

Following the win in Valladolid, boss Pep Guardiola reminded his players that there was still plenty of the season still to play, but admitted: “runs like this show the true nature of the team”.

Although he expressed himself happy with the way his team had performed in Valladolid, Pep also stressed that the unbeaten run was nothing more than an “anecdote - there are 19 games still to play and that’s a lot of points”.

Stability

Guardiola congratulated his team on their run though and claimed: “runs like this show the true nature of the team and that’s been really stable. For me, the most important was seeing that we were prepared to be aggressive, we want to open the game up and create chances, that’s the way we played last year and that’s how we are continuing this time round”.

In the team’s own hands

Barca are now eight points clear of second place Madrid, who play on Sunday night, but Guardiola was as always cautious: “there are no insuperable distances. We were 12 points ahead of them last year at this stage and we needed to go to the Bernabeu to ensure the title. I still don’t think the difference is an issue, there’s plenty of games left to play. How we get through now is up to us, not any other team”.

Hard place to win at

As to the Valladolid game, Guardiola reckoned his team had been: “daring and very good”, with the first two goals: “changing the game round – the players felt more comfortable. We knew from last year that Valladolid would press us hard, but I think we played well. It’s always hard to come here and win”.

Valdés

Guardiola paid particular praise to Victor Valdes, who made some important stops, particularly when the game was still goalless: “Valdés is enjoying some very good form. He’s really growing as a keeper. He saved us at the start of the Tenerife game and he did it again tonight”.