FCBARCELONA.CAT

02.11.2009 12:38

"If the pitch is OK then I’m not worried"

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Director of football Txiki Begiristain is convinced Barça can put on a good show despite the cold in Kazan. However, he warned that the group is difficult and the fixture pileup could also prove tricky.

Txiki Begiristain spoke to reporters in Barcelona on Monday morning before boarding the plane for Russia. He expressed cautious optimism for Wednesday evening’s clash: “If the pitch is Ok then I’m not worried. I believe we are the better team and the main thing is that the players warm up thoroughly. Kazan work hard and have a good group of players. We mustn’t forget that they are champions of their country and they’ve got money to spend”.

A difficult group

Group F is extremely tight with Barça, Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev tied on 4 points while Inter have 3. Txiki reminded reporters of what he said directly after the group draw in Monaco: “I remember perfectly how I assessed the draw. I especially emphasized the difficulty of the away matches. In all senses it’s a very balanced group. Inter and Barça were the favourites and now we have to fight to qualify in two away matches”.

A good start

Despite the uncertainty of the Champions League, Begiristain is satisfied with the Club’s start to the season. “We have achieved the same results as last season in the Champions League but in the league we are top with seven wins and two draws and in the Cup we lead 0-2 from the first leg. It’s only October and we’re getting excited!”

Injuries and referees

Barça’s director of football also referred to Dani Alves and to the referee in last weekend’s match. There was good news this morning from Club doctors who announced that Dani Alves is fit to play: “The main thing is that he makes a full recovery because it’s a long season.” However, Begiristain refused to be drawn in to criticism of the referee of the Osasuna match: “It’s not our style to complain about the referees. In addition I don’t think it would be fair for Barça or Real Madrid to do that”.