FCBARCELONA.CAT

28.03.2008 14:51

Rijkaard seeks aggression up front and security at the back

Berta Brau

Despite not knowing where the Betis v FC Barcelona match would be played, something Rijkaard considers odd, he claims that his team’s preparations have gone ahead as planned and the doubts over the venue have had no adverse effects.

Once today’s training session behind closed doors was over, the Barça manager spoke to the media and explained that his team was well prepared for Saturday's match against Betis.

The keys to the game

Frank Rijkaard described 13th placed Betis as a difficult opponent. He admits that they have always “played well against Barça” and are “strong up front and especially in the air … We will have to pay particular attention to our defensive duties, play our way and be aggressive up front in order to assure security at the back".

Doubt over venue

When speaking to the press, Frank Rijkaard still did not know for sure where the Betis v FC Barcelona match was going to be played. But he didn’t think such uncertainty mattered much, for “all we need to know is the place because we will prepare for it in the same way and wherever we play our objectives will be the same”.

Naming names

Asked about the condition of some of his players, Frank Rijkaard announced that Touré Yaya and Carles Puyol “are ready to play”, despite their minor injury concerns.

The possibility of Eric Abidal playing at centre back was also brought up, as it looks like somebody will have to cover for the injured Gaby Milito. The Barça boss said “he has played in that position for the French national team and we have used him as a centre back here as well. It is handy that he can either play as a centre back or a full back.”

Ronaldinho’s situation

But what most of the pressmen were interested in was in learning more about Ronaldinho’s situation. The Dutchman did not want to go into too many details, and limited himself to saying that “everybody, team, squad, club, we are with him”. The Brazilian is still getting bother from his leg, and Rijkaard said “it is still too early to say whether he will be travelling to Germany” for the Champions league this week.