FCBARCELONA.CAT

10.05.2008 15:08

Rijkaard: “It’s been an honour”

Sandra Sarmiento

The Dutchman thanks the club for the five seasons in which he was manager of Barça’s first team. “I have always thought about the team and giving my very best. I will never forget it”.

Tomorrow there’s a home game, the last of the season. But it’s not just any old game. There are more than just three points in play. It’s Rijkaard’s last meeting with the fans in the Camp Nou. Pep Guardiola will take over from the Dutchman on the 30th of June. In the press conference prior to the Mallorca game, Rijkaard, emotional and “a little nervous”, wanted to thank Barça for his five years at the Club. “I have always worked from the heart and with complete honesty. I will never forget it - this more than any result. I’m grateful for the years I have spent here. I have always put the team first and given my very best to the club and to the fans. It has been an honour for me.”

He accepts his responsibility

The first team has had two disappointing seasons and the club has decided to let the Dutchman go. “When you don’t achieve the expected results this is normal. That’s how football goes and you have to accept it. I can’t say I’m not upset. I always look at the good side of things, the people who I have worked with. What I have lived through. They will always be in my heart”.
Rijkaard has not avoided responsibilities. Rather the contrary: “I accept my responsibility, as always. People talk about the President but he can’t score goals. When results are not good, what does the President have to do with it?” Moreover, the Dutchman has asked for unity: “You need to have confidence in the people who give their hearts to this club.” Rijkaard said of the players: “They have all given the maximum under the circumstances. They have always wanted to do the best for the club, for themselves and for their team-mates”.

Last game in the Camp Nou

With his characteristic elegance and discretion, Rijkaard doesn’t want a special send-off from the fans in his last home game as Barça manager. As he always says, “the team is the most important” and for that reason so much attention on him makes him uncomfortable. “For me it’s strange. I form part of the team, with my colleagues and the club. Without any special attention. I hope that, even under the circumstances, the team make a good impression and are the focus of attention with a good game”. The Mallorca clash comes after the defeat in the Bernabeu. “If there is whistling or booing, it is also aimed at me. I’m part of the group. We are all in the same boat and I am no exception”.