05.01.2011 23:58

Perfect night for Abidal

Roger Bogunyà

Éric Abidal will never forget January 5, 2011. He scored his first ever goal for Barça and was given a guard of honour as he returned to the dressing room after scoring the goal that put his team in the quarter finals of the cup.

His 75th minute goal immediately meant the game would not be going into extra time, and after scoring for the first time in 130 appearances for Barça, he said “I’m delighted. For the goal and for qualifying. It was an important goal.

Dedicated to his Facebook fans

Abidal went on to day that “it was a goal a lot of fans were waiting for. I dedicate it to my Facebook fans and my family. I did score in France, but never here.” Tonight he played as a centre back until Iniesta came on, and merely said “I do what I can to help the team, wherever we play. I have the manager’s confidence, especially when I play as centre back.”

Guard of honour

Josep Guardiola mentioned that they had applauded Abidal into the dressing rooms. “We gave him a guard of honour. He deserved it. We wanted to give him the bumps, but the ceiling was too low”, he said, for the Frenchman had a great game, and that was before he scored the famous goal.

Third goal as a professional

This was only the third goal Abidal has ever scored as a pro. The first two were at Olympique Lyon, and curiously he has yet to score in a league fixture. He scored a cup goal against Lille, and also got one in the League Cup semi finals on January 17, 2007 against Le Mans. Abidal also scored a penalty in the World Cup final shootout against Italy in 2006, which France ultimately lost.

Xavi: “It was a difficult ground”

Xavi was the other protagonist at San Mamés, where he officially became the player to have appeared most times for FC Barcelona, with 550 games. The home fans even gave him a standing ovation, and in response he said “these fans have always treated me well” while he felt the game had been difficult, but that Barça’s style had won through in the end.