FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.12.2009 18:27

Verón: "If it’s a show you want, go to the theatre"

Roger Bogunyà (enviat especial)

Juan Sebastián Verón has raised the atmosphere with a declaration of war on Barça, reminding listeners that in England his team is still remembered as the Animals for the way, 40 years ago, they beat Manchester United in the final.

If anybody had any doubts about the importance of this game, then they would have been convinced otherwise by the atmosphere in the Estudiantes press conference. In Argentina, the Clubs World Cup “is the game of the century” according to their manager Alejandro Sabella. Both he and Verón had plenty to say, and a video of their press conference should be all it takes to make sure Barça are fully motivated.

"It is not one another day, it is THE day"

The 'Pincharratas' are motivated. Very motivated. The press conference was all about sentiment and passion, focusing on the figure of Verón’s father, three times winner of the Copa Libertadores and one of the members of the team that won the Intercontinental Cup 41 years ago against Man United. "I was born to the club through my father, who had as good as, if not a better record than I did, winning so many important titles for the club. This is not one another day, it is THE day” warned Verón.

More than up for it

He didn’t speak about line-ups or tactics. On Messi, Verón could not have been blunter. “Is there anything I don’t know about Messi? I can tell you want colour his underpants are and I warned him not to play”. All that he has on his mind is winning this game. "If it’s a show you want, go to the theatre. We are here to win the match”, he said.

The manager was less dramatic with his words, and spoke of "solidarity", "sacrifice", "work" and "humility" as the basic concepts for beating Barça. He added "we know we will have to play the very best we can. The harder our opponent, the more we need to do. But historically, we’ve done this before”.

Tough match?

It is still unclear what kind of game we’ll see. Estudiantes is a side that likes to play the ball, but they could well change that when they face Barça. The manager and the player didn’t seem to share the same opinions here. Sabella said that rather than a tough game, "one of the things I want to be sure of is that we go out with 11 men and finish with 11 men, especially against a team as good as this”.

But the ‘warlock’ preferred to hark back to 1968. "In England they still call us the Animals. It’s the club’s idiosyncrasy”. What’s clear is that Estudiantes have every belief that they can win this, and at any cost.