FCBARCELONA.CAT

05.08.2007 11:06

Neeskens: “The team is highly motivated”

David Puig / Anna Segura

Johan Neeskens thinks this pre-season is very different to last season’s, because everything has been easier to plan due to the full squad being available at the same time.

Johan Neeskens joined FC Barcelona a year ago to become Frank Rijkaard’s assistant. After a first season bereft of any major titles, Neeskens senses that “the team is highly motivated this season”. From Beijing, the Dutchman analysed the pre-season in the company of Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat.

An unusual pre-season

Neeskens recognised that this pre-season “was a bit to different to last year. Last year we went to Denmark and then on tour in the United States but the problem was that not all of the players were there from the start and joined at different parts of the tour. There were 8 or 9 players that did not follow the same programmes as the others. Now there are only 3 or 4 missing players. We are here with the whole team, and that’s better”.

Signings settling in

Rijkaard’s assistant has been very impressed with the way the new players have adapted to the squad. “We are happy” he said. “They need time to adapt well to the team but so far they are doing well.” He spoke in particular about three players. Abidal is, he feels “a very fast, agile player who knows when he has to go up”, Touré is “strong, he positions himself well in the centre of the midfield. He plays with ease and has a great touch of the ball”, while Henry, “is quick, he reads the game well and has a goalscoring instinct.”

Bojan and Giovani

Johan Neeskens also had words about youngsters Bojan and Giovani. The Mexican has “many qualities, including speed and strength”, while Bojan is “clever and doesn’t make life complicated. He can either play on the wings or in the middle. He is a star for the future”.