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05.12.2009 23:59
Guardiola: “We were back to playing as we can”
Vanessa Forns
Josep Guardiola reckons his team recovered their trademark game against Deportivo and also praised the contributions of Ibra and Messi: “their quality made the difference”.
Guardiola expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance on the night::“Deportivo had just a shot and a half on target. We were back to playing as we can, playing as ourselves, but that wasn't enough in the first half, though I think we deserved more than to go in level at the break. We kept at it in the second half and although we weren't as brilliant, I'm very happy with the team's performance”.
La sortida de Pedro, clau
The boss agreed that Lotina's team had closed down spaces well and made
it tough to break down their defence and saw Pedro's entry onto the field as decisive;
“Deportivo closed down through the middle, so with Pedro we tried to open the game up down
the flanks and although our play wasn't as brilliant as in the first half, we dominated at a very
difficult ground and that's why this was an important win”.
Deportivo
Guardiola insisted that Deportivo were “really well organised. They are a well structured team – they've only conceded 12 goals so far this season. Their players know what they have to do, though the absence of Riki and Lassad mean they had to play in a particular way.. You can see they have a good squad, the President supports the coaches and they can achieve what they've set out to do”.
Dynamo game, “the biggest of the season”
Finally, Guardiola talked about Wednesday's Champions League clash in
Kiev: “this is the biggest game of our season so far and that will define the rest of our
season. I'm confident that we will preform well. We cannot go out of Europe and we have to finish
top of our group. This game is even more important than the World Club Cup and we must go into it
with the kind of motivation we showed tonight”.
Images: Miguel Ruiz (FCB)
Laporta: “We were true to our style of play”
Visibly very satisfied with the team's win, Club President Joan Laporta was particularly pleased
with the level of the team's performance at the Riazor: “we played at a very high level in
our own style, passing and tackling with intensity. Barca played a great game and were true to our
style of play. This was an important win as it keeps us top by quite a distance . We kept to our
style of play and scored some lovely goals”.
Leo Messi, who will pick up his European Player of the Year award in Paris on Sunday, was undoubtedly one of the night's focal points and Laporta commented: “he deserves the award. Obviously, the team is always more important than individuals, but players like him really do help. He gave another recital of great football tonight – he's the best in the world! The Ballon d'Or is a also a recognition of the great work done at our academy – that's the expression of our cultural identity”.
Leo Messi, who will pick up his European Player of the Year award in Paris on Sunday, was undoubtedly one of the night's focal points and Laporta commented: “he deserves the award. Obviously, the team is always more important than individuals, but players like him really do help. He gave another recital of great football tonight – he's the best in the world! The Ballon d'Or is a also a recognition of the great work done at our academy – that's the expression of our cultural identity”.
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