FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.01.2010 14:27

Milito: “I still have to regain match fitness”

Jordi Clos

Gaby Milito told reporters on Monday that he is enjoying his return to competitive football though he admitted, “I still have to regain match fitness”. He went on to praise the team’s defensive performances.

He’s gradually playing his way back into the team and it seems that the extended nightmare of his knee injury has been left far behind. Speaking at Monday’s press conference, he explained: “I feel confident, very confident. However, I still have to regain match fitness. It’s really good for me when I get a chance to play. I need matches to get back in form. I’ll get there with time”.

Grateful to the team and to Guardiola

Milito stressed that he had never considered “throwing in the towel”, though watching the treble-winning season from the sidelines was a difficult experience: “I shared the enormous happiness of the team for the titles although personally it was hard as there was no clear sign of improvement [in my knee]. My team-mates made me feel part of the victories. Luckily they’re a great bunch lads here at Barça. They helped me a lot and I’ll always be grateful. Pep [Guardiola] is very close to the players and he’s had some nice touches with the squad. He’s a great person and he shows that every day. He always transmitted his confidence to me”.

On the right track

Milito is a fantastic ‘signing’ for Barça in the quest to renew their league and European titles, and in his opinion the signs are positive: “Our progress is good, very similar to last season when we won the lot. The idea is the same and we’re on the right track”. When asked to comment on the five-point lead Barça has over Real Madrid at the top of the league table, Gaby predicted: “It’ll be a hard fight right to the end. We have a good advantage but it’s not definitive”.

Defensive merit

Much of the merit for Barça’s extraordinary first half of the season must go down to the team’s excellent defensive play, which has enabled them to concede just 10 goals in 19 league matches. According to Milito: “That’s not due to the defence but to the whole team. When we’re organized it’s much easier for the defenders”. Some teams have tried to smother Barça’s creativity by pressing the defenders hard and preventing them from playing the ball out from the back. However, Milito is not too concerned: “Bringing the ball out of defensive positions isn’t an issue. We get pressured but the team keeps on trying to play the ball up and most of the time we succeed”.