FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.01.2008 23:59

Rijkaard: “A hard worked 1-0”

Vanessa Forns

Speaking to reporters after the match, Frank Rijkaard emphasised the hard work put in by his players in the 1-0 defeat of Racing.

The Barça coach was pleased with the result, and the three points, and highlighted the effort put in by his team, especially the defence: “I have confidence in the team but with the score at 1-0 you have to keep your concentration at all times”.

The second goal

“With the scoreboard at 1-0 you know anything can happen. That’s football and tonight’s 1-0 was hard worked. We wanted to score the second goal, which is always very important, and we had our chances to do so, but we didn’t manage it”.

Focussed on themselves

When asked to comment on Real Madrid’s 0-2 away win against Atlético Madrid, Frank Rijkaard insisted that the Barça players have to focus on their own matches: “We have to carry on with our work and get as many points as possible. It’s a tough league and the most important thing is for us to do our job in every match”.

Racing in form

Rijkaard described Racing as “uncomfortable” to play against, and added: “Racing are in form and you can see that. They’ve got a good squad”.

“We have to encourage the fans”

Asked about the occasional whistling that could be heard from the crowd, Rijkaard explained: “Our fans are good. We have to encourage them and when you do that they respond. I can understand it, above all in the first half; our rhythm was slow. Racing were well positioned and the ball didn’t circulate as we would have liked and we made some mistakes in the movements to create space. After the break, the team moved more and made it clear we were here to win the match”.

He also commented on the whistles directed at Giovani Dos Santos: “That’s something the player will have to overcome. Giovani always works hard for the team and in that sense he had a good game”.

Fixtures to be confirmed

Finally, he clarified his preferences for the dates and times of this week’s matches: “That’s a question for the Club. I prefer to have three days between one match and another. That’s what we need”.