Frank Rijkaard fielded questions in his post match press conference after Racing Santander fell at Camp Nou.


The Dutchman was pleased with the outcome of the match, though admitting the game could have been better. Rijkaard has had to become more self-tasking in his tactical approach since the season started with succesive away draws for the Blaugrana, and has also re-organized the team's formation and attacking options, moves that have produced good results for the Catalan giants as they battle back to reckoning in the La Liga while amintaing strong showings in the champions league and in the Copa del Rey. Rijkaard made a general analysis of the Barca team's display against their defence-conscious visitors:

It was a tough game. Racing are in good form, and you have to remember that. They have a good team. They drop back quickly in defend in numbers, and keep their shape on the pitch at all times. We did not move the ball around as well as we should have, but a lot of that has to do with Racing's organization. We were a little slow in the first half. In the second half, we had some quick movement, and showed that we wanted to go for it. We played a good game.

Rijkaard rejected the suggestion that Barca fans were rising against their team, and rather corrected the notion, saying that the fans began to cheer when the Blaugrana stepped up their game. The Dutchman also spoke on Giovani dos Santos:

We received good support from the fans. They responded when we stepped up the tempo, and were backing us. Giovani is a player who works very hard for the team.

Finally asked about Real Madrid's away victory on the same night, after the league leaders defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0, Rijkaard wasn't so concerned about the arch-rivals of Barca, but rather chose to focus on his tactics and victory:

There's still some distance ahead. We must focus on ourselves, and on picking up all the points we can. The most important thing is to do our bit in every game. We are confident that if we keep winning, things will eventually turn around.