FCBARCELONA.CAT

04.11.2009 21:40

“We'll see if the point is a good one at the end"

Vanessa Forns

Speaking immediately after the draw against Rubin Kazan, Josep Guardiola insisted that a final assessment of the value of the point would only be possible at the end of the group stage.

Despite the players’ efforts in the Centralny stadium, and the numerous chances to score, Barça had to settle for a goalless draw. How this might affect the team’s chances of making it through to the first knockout round is uncertain: “We’ll find out if the point is positive or negative at the end”.

“We tried every way possible”

However, Guardiola was satisfied with his team’s attacking performance: “There are two matches left and we have to try and win them. If we don’t do that then we don’t deserve to reach the R16. We have a playing style and with that we will qualify for the R16 or we go home. We tried every way possible. At the end of the day it’ll be a fascinating challenge”.

Satisfied with the match

As for the team’s overall performance, Guardiola was reasonably happy: “The team had a good first half. In the second half, however, we let our desire take over and things were a bit harder”.

Praise for Rubin Kazan

“Teams like Zenit or Shaktar Donetsk have recently won the UEFA Cup. All the teams from this region are good and play with good organization. Sometimes it’s very difficult to attack when there are ten players in the penalty area. Rubin Kazan did this and whether you like it or not they’re very, very good at it, with constant support to each other, closing down space inside and breaking very quickly”.

”Goals are something special”

Asked about the fact that Barça have only scored once in the last three away matches, Guardiola denied there was any cause for concern: “Goals are something special. Sometimes you play badly and score. Sometimes you play well and you don’t score. I’ll stick with the team’s performance. We’ll score another day”.