Relief comes to Camp Nou as players breathe an air of less pressure from fans and the media.


FC Barcelona have secured three points from the weekend match against Athletic Bilbao in Camp Nou. This comes at the right time. After the Racing Santander episode, players like Gianluca Zambrotta said they were stunned by the reactions from fans and observers worldwide, as the performance of the Blaugrana was harshly criticised and outrightly rebuked. Now, things seem to be getting better after the 3-1 win against Athletic.
Speaking after the match, some of the Barcelona players expressed their views:


Thierry Henry:

It was important to show our other face after what happened in Santander. Most of all, we need to make sure the fans are happy.

Gianluca Zambrotta:

We played a good game with a winning mentality. I think we have to continue like that. Today we had the right mentality to win.
You can’t criticise us too much for the first game. Today we have shown just what kind of Barça we want. Last year was my first season and it was a bit difficult, which is normal. This year I hope to do well and help Barça to win.

Oleguer Presas:

We had a good first half. In the second half we slowed down a bit. We are still at the start of the season and we have a lot of things to improve but we are on the right track. The team has recovered its aggressiveness and played the ball around their area well. That is our strength and we need to take advantage of it”. I have a good feeling about this season. We have made some good new signings and they have improved the quality of the squad we had.

Víctor Valdés:

It was a nice game to watch, a great show. We suffered a bit towards the end, but we are generally pretty happy. Athletic fight for every ball. At 2-0 we lost some of out intensity and it was all so much more easy after we scored our third. We understand the criticism and treat it constructively. We went out onto the pitch intent on turning the page.

Giovani dos Santos:

I couldn’t have hoped for more on my debut. I imagined a debut like that. And it was strange be come on as substitute for Henry, who has always been one of my heroes. I am very happy. I couldn’t ask for more. It was my dream come true. I hope to stay here for many more years.