FC Barcelona´s coach Frank Rijkaard challenged the team during the official press conference prior to the match, suggesting that the player´s have to respond to Ronaldinho´s absence. For the first time this season, Ronaldinho will not play in a Liga game at Camp Nou and coach Frank Rijkaard hopes this will add to the motivation of the team.


Here is a selection of his press conference statements:

It will be an interesting game to see how the team responds without Ronaldinho. He will be missed.

Ronaldinho is ill. It was serious enough to leave him with no energy, therefore, due to the fact he’s played many games, we decided to allow him time to recover by following a special programme. He’s played the world cup, every game, including friendlies. He’s been important for us – a determined player, however, the human body has its limits and occasionally, it lacks strength.

Never in all my time here, I have felt the need to control everything that goes on. We’ve got great players who have great comradeship and when something doesn’t go as planned, they look for a solution.

This team has been playing together for three years now. They have achieved a wealth of things, all this is not lost in just one day. It is true, however, we’ve suffered some difficult moments this season. Teams prepare well against us and we have to be prepared to fight.

It doesn’t help looking at what other teams are doing. What’s more important is to have a good mentality and attitude at all times, therefore, giving the team every possibility of playing at the highest level.