FCBARCELONA.CAT

03.05.2010 14:39

Guardiola expects something like Xerez game

Vanessa Forns

Josep Guardiola reckons his team could face a similar encounter to their last league game at the Nou Camp against Xerez. Tenerife are also struggling against relegation and have no choice but to come and attack.

According to Guardiola, “it’ll be a similar game to the Xerez one. Tenerife have some very dynamic players and they’ll not be frightened of coming to attack. They are a team willing to take risks and I know that we have to be alert to that”.

Wary of in form Tenerife

The boss also explained that he’d have preferred to have a little more time to prepare his players following Saturday’s game, about which he commented: “winning after a defeat is always positive, particularly at a tough ground” especially since: “Tenerife have taken 11 points from their last five games. They are a team who pressure you all over the pitch and if they can they’ll come after you. They get a lot of players into the box and we have to show them respect. We’ll have to keep our wits about us”.

Focus vital

Guardiola warned the players before the Xerez game that they shouldn’t let the prospect of a Champions League semi final distract them from the job in hand and now he’s insisting they don’t let the prospect of their tricky trip to Seville on Saturday sidetrack them from the need to beat Tenerife: “maybe they’ll let the game against Seville distract them, but there’s not much I can say to them now. We’ll try and play a good game. There’s always the risk of the players losing their focus, but I think now that we are so close, that won’t happen”.

Team are ready

The boss went on: “we are ready for this final stretch and we all know we have to give it our everything until the final whistle. There’s no room for a slip up and we know that if we take all nine points that are left, we’ll be league champions”.

Barca and Madrid both deserve the title

Guardiola was generous towards the eternal rivals Real Madrid: “with these numbers, both of us maybe deserve the title. When you look at the stats, both of us have lost so few games. Both of us should finish the league with our heads held high for what we’ve achieved. The season we’ve put in has been really admirable and in many ways unbeatable. I’ll go for my holidays with no complaints at all”.

Ibra or Bojan?

With the debate about Ibra or Bojan filling the local media, Guardiola commented: “any debates are good, but the truth is that both of them deserve to play. Ibra has great numbers this season. We’ve come this far with effort of all of the players and I just want one last push so that we can take the title”