FCBARCELONA.CAT

11.02.2010 11:30

Forwards are defensive key

David Puig

Pep Guardiola has highlighted the hard work of the forwards this season as one of the keys behind the team's outstanding defensive displays and he believes that will be vital once again when Barça take on Atlético de Madrid at the weekend.

"Pedro, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, Bojan [Krkic], [Lionel] Messi, Titi [Henry] ... thanks to them our opponents have had very few chances this season," the Blaugrana coach stated recently when he was asked what he felt were the reasons why his side had managed to be so strong at the back despite a number of injuries to defenders this season.

81 balls

Statistics show that the six forwards in the Barça squad have won 81 balls in the 21 league matches this term, averaging around 13 balls won back each and around four per game. Messi leads the way with 32 balls won back from the opposition.

Attitude and commitment

Away from the statistics Guardiola values highly the attitude and commitment of his front line players. That mentality will again be tested as Barça prepare for a run of matches with a number of defensive injuries to cope with.

High praise

The team's defensive work has also won praise from others as former Real Valladolid coach José Luis Mendilibar told Barça TV: "Nobody talks about Barça's defensive qualities. They recover the ball so quickly because all their players apply pressure on the opposition. If you do not move the ball quickly they will take it back from you immediately."

Osasuna boss José Antonio Camacho agreed: "They are a team full of well known names that work very hard."