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31.01.2008 23:58
Messi: "I always just try to help the team"
Roger Bogunyà
Lionel Messi revealed that he was in two minds about taking the penalty that was saved against Villarreal as Ronaldinho had come on only seconds before he lined up the spot kick.
The Argentinian was the star of the game as Barça defeated the Yellow Submarine thanks to a goal from Thierry Henry, but he explained after how he lost focus for a few precious moments.
Below are the thoughts of some of the players:
Messi
"I always try to do my best to help the team with my play
and it is important that the team continue moving forward."
"We remained calm throughout the game. We have had the ball and played as we wanted to. We only suffered a bit at the end, but not a great deal."
"The truth is that Ronaldinho's entrance just before the penalty did affect me. I was going to leave it and let him take it, but in the end I shot."
"I hope we can go all the way in the cup."
"In all honesty, I do not mind who we draw. It will be a two-legged tie and it does not matter who it is against."
"Making up the gap at the top of the league is possible. We are some way behind, but we can do it."
Iniesta
"It was a typical, intesnse Copa del Rey game. We are
pleased to have made it through to the next round."
"We could not find a second goal, but they had hardly any chances."
"What matters is that we are in the semi finals."
"We had a lot of chances to score a second and the team moved the ball around very quickly."
"We never doubted the fans. We wanted to draw them in and make them cheer us on because of the way that we played."
"If we are to meet Getafe, I hope will be in the final."
Zambrotta
"We suffered a bit. But I think that we played well, with a good mentality, above all in the first half. In the second half we should have scored a second goal to finish the tie off, but in the end we won."
"I thought we created a lot of opportunities. It was just that the ball did not want to go in. It is more important that we are creating these chances though."
"We all know about Messi. He is a very important player for us. Also, Ronaldinho did some good things when he came on. I think that we are all happy about going through."
"Getafe are a bogey team for us, but what counts is that we are in the semi finals."
Laporta: "We were superior"
Joan Laporta said after the win against Villarreal that the team "was superior over the course of
the two legs, but it was a tie that we had to work very hard in order to win". The Barcelona
president then said that he was "very please" and wanted to thank the fans. "The supporters have
responded well and were behind the team throughout and I want to thank them for that," he
explained. The win would also "lift morale" according to Laporta who also eulogised about Lionel
Messi's performance. "He did some things that were fantastic and was one of the outstanding players
in the game, but I want to say that everyone played well." Finally, the club chief reflected on
Ronaldinho's return to action. "It is good news that he is back on the pitch again. He has worked
hard and made his comeback."
