Barca players try to solve the away game puzzle that has riddled the Barca super squad.


FC Barcelona players are not at all happy with their dismal performance against Getafe and a further disappointing away record. This trend is rapidly threatening the chances of the Blaugrana to lift the La Liga. Speaking after the match against Getafe, the players all expressed grave concern over the fate that had befallen them:


Gabi Milito:

We didn’t play a good game and this hurts. We had the chance to go top of the league before our main rivals play. The goals hurt us but we must have the ability to respond to these situations like all the best teams do. They were well organised. To be champions we must also win way from home and we’ll have to sort this out quickly.

Carles Puyol:

It’s not just the manager’s fault. The players are also responsible as we are the ones who have to play. We’re lacking in some things, especially away from home. I’m worried. After each game we say the same thing but two weeks later the same thing happens. We tried to play football but the opposition raised its game more than us and if we can’t raise our game we won’t win. They played more as a team. You can win or lose in football but we have to look at how we are losing, and that is what worries me. This can change with hard work. We have to speak about it amongst ourselves but it’s clear that we can’t go on like this. Every point is important. We’re the first to try and forget about what happened last season but what happens is that last year keeps coming back.

Gianluca Zambrotta:

We’re not playing well away from the Nou Camp. It’s difficult to explain. The team is finding it difficult to play away from home. We’re having a lot of problems this year in trying to impose our game. It’s not easy to find a solution. We have to be more aggressive and play with a better attitude.

Andrés Iniesta:

We had a couple of chances but when you don’t take them you make things difficult for yourself. When things aren’t working you have to look at them.

Frank Rijkaard is short of explanations. The biggest question in the La Liga still remains unanswered: Why can't FC Barcelona perform once they are playing away?


The Dutchman was visibly shaken after the Getafe encounter and could only encourage himself and his players immediately after the match which Barca lost 2-0 and not only failed to clinch the top spot in the league, but will also likely slip further down the table should other teams like Villarreal strike their accord the right way today in their respective league matches. A worried Rijkaard knows that the key to win the league lies in good away outings. This is now the biggest headache for the technician to sort out. Speaking on the Getafe match itself, a sad Rijkaard confessed:

We lost the ball a lot and they were ready to launch counter-attacks and they grew stronger while we went downhill. In attack we created little and we paid for that. There was a lack of intensity all over, but particularly going forward. We feel deceived. I think that we tried to play our own style, but yet again it has not worked and it is my job to find a solution and find a way to win away. We did not create danger and one statistic is that Uche had more shots than all of us put together. That shows that something did not work. The mentality was good, but we need to think about doing something differently away from home. That was not how we want things to be and it is not the first it has happened. But, as I have said, I am the one that has to find the solutions.

Generally talking about Barca's opponents and their attitude in away games, Rijkaard said:

Our Opponents are sitting back and waiting for us and we have not been able to find a way through that. There is still a long way to go in the league and it will depend on many things, but it is obvious that we need to add more points and at the moment we are not doing that.

Winning away games is the last part of the jigsaw puzzle for the Blaugrana. The team has found their tune in the champions league and has a 100% home record in all championships this season. Indeed, if FC Barcelona want to make the desired impact at the La Liga, a lot of work needs to be done in the away matches.

Getafe will be the first test for Barca after the Blaugrana declared winning away matches their new top priority.


Coach Frank Rijkaard is confident that FC Barcelona stop dropping vital away points from the Getafe match, which the Dutchman sees as a must-win match for the Catalan giants. Barca remain second in the La Liga table and a point behind leaders Real Madrid. Were Barca not to have dropped vital away points, the Blaugrana would have been a distant first ahead of all other teams. Rijkaard says of the forthcoming match:

We are well organised and that the side is working well. Now all we need to do is make the difference by scoring goals at the other end.

On Getafe team itself, Rijkaard says:

They are playing well at home. They have not let in many goals and they are well organised and, lately, they have found some form. It will be an interesting game because they want to continue their run and we want to win too.

Read more as well as Rijkaard's analysis of the Henry-Ronladinho-Messi trio:


Getafe - FC Barcelona: Coach Rijkaard's Pre-Match Comments.