Celtic Glasgow's coach Gordon Strachan has thrown his hats out for the superior quality of the Catalan giants.


The Scottish veteran of FIFA World Cups was not able to lend his experience as a player to his boys as they crumbled to a far more gifted Barca side who knew how to pass the ball around and how to score. Strachan was well entertained by the beauty of the Blaugrana, who emerged 3-2 winners after the match. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Celtic coach admitted his boys met a stronger opponent, but thought the Scottish team would have done better than it did, even while they enjoyed some brief moments of staying ahead score-wise. Gordon Strachan said:

It's very difficult against an excellent Barcelona side. We're disappointed. I think they were excellent. Loads of great players and they're hard to play against. We thought we did okay in bits maybe in the first half and got the lead, but I don't think any of us were good tonight. We thought we could have done better at home, individually and collectively as a team. It was hard in the end, but we lost the goals to some great finishes from Barca. It's quite hard to get the ball off them.

Strachan admits that he and the entire Celtic team has learnt a lot from FC Barcelona in this single encounter:

It's a bit of a learning curve for us, but credit to Barcelona they were excellent. Hopefully we can have a better return leg.

Still focussed on the title, Barca players are more determined than ever.


FC Barcelona players spoke in the post match press conference after sealing off a brilliant weekend at Camp Nou with victory in the last match. Bojan, Iniesta, Deco and Sylvinho had things to say:


Bojan:

I think the most important thing is to win and stay alive in the three competitions. We’re in a situation where the result is more important. We must be patient. We’ll soon start playing well. Madrid could have dropped some points today but the most important thing was for us to win. Villarreal are difficult on their own ground. We’ll try and get a good result in the first leg.

Iniesta:

Three more points. We tried to score a second goal but it wasn’t to be.mRacing deserve to be where they are in the table. They like to play the ball around and they’re difficult to break down. I want to play. Obviously, the further up field I play, the more comfortable I feel. But if I’m in the chosen eleven, I’m happy. We can’t be saying where Madrid will slip up. We’re in this situation because we dropped points. Now we have to win our matches and wait for them to lose. I hope that the experience of the league match we played in Villarreal will help us in the Cup.

Deco

The result was the best thing in the match. Racing played well on the counterattack and made it difficult for us to create because they defended very well. Madrid are doing well but we have to focus on winning our matches. It’s good that we’re gradually recovering our injured players.

Sylvinho :

We found it hard to break down the Racing defence but we finally got three important points. It was a good match for the coaches. It was a very tactical match. They set out to control the game tactically and it was hard for us to create chances. Henry needs time to recover fully but now you can see that he’s very strong and he’s contributing a lot. Messi is a player that makes a difference. The team feels it when he’s got the ball. He brings quality and makes the team play better. Villarreal are difficult opponents. It’ll be an evenly balanced tie but we have the slight advantage of playing the second leg at home. Pinto works very hard. He brings a lot to the team both as a professional and as a person. I wish him luck at Barça.

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.

Frank Rijkaard was happy that Barca picked a ticket to the quarter final stage of the Copa del Rey. The manager spoke to the press afterwards.



A team that knocks out the defending champions should deserve to be the new champions themselves. FC barcelona must strive on to win the Copa del Rey after edging out last year's champions, Sevilla CF. The Blaugrana secured a 1-1 draw in the first leg and a goalless draw in Camp Nou meant they go through on away goal rule. A pleased Frank Rijkaard who got his tactics dead right on the night, was happy iwht the result. The stars played to instruction and had a very organized defence with Milito, Puyol, Sylvinho and Zambrotta being intact and Marquez providing cover. Rijkaard said after the match:

I was very pleased, particularly in defence where the team was very focussed and gave everything. Before the game we said that the worst thing would be to concede a goal and we have played the game accordingly. We wanted to concentrate on Sevilla's strong points without giving up our own style. It was not that attractive, but that was not just us as Sevilla had a very tactical approach. They were strong and kept a lot of people back. It was important for us to progress to the next round and we have done that against a great team.

Barça face Villarreal or Recreativo in the next round of the Copa del Rey. Rijkaard is not bouyed by the prospects of facing either, and is ready for the quarter opponents. The Dutchman is instead more concerned with securing a ticket to the semi-final through good football:

Villarreal is more well known and appear strong, but in knockout tournaments the only thing it worry about is playing well yourselves.

After the sweet taste of victory, the Catalan giants are boosted in confidence and ready to continue the victory train rolling.


The delighted super stars agreed they needed a result like the 4-0 thrashing of Murcia in order to improve upon their psychology and the hope of their fans. Goal machine Bojan is already looking forward to another victory over Sevilla to further boost the teams confidence:


Bojan Krkic:

We needed a win like this. Now if we qualify against Sevilla, we will feel more confident. The game against Madrid was a hard blow. We had to sort things out and I think we are showing that we did. I feel fine in any of the three attacking positions. I connect well with Henry, it’s something innate.

Eidur Gudjohnsen:

I felt good from the first minute. We played it around easily and that was an important part of the first goal. But they were well placed in defence. I have to thank Zambrotta and Henry because they gave great assists, Henry’s movement helped me because he went to the near post. The people were hoping for something more and I think we won well today.

Lillian Thuram:

We needed a result like this. Personally, the first half was hard because I haven’t played for some time. But I felt better later. When an opponent plays like that at the back it is only normal for us to score first. After the team played well and the attitude was right. I think we are starting to see the best of Henry. I hope he is going to be an important player as he likes to feel important to the team.

Víctor Valdés:

It is important for the fans to see that we have got our best football back. Murcia is a very well organised side and play very directly. Barça played aggressive pressure football. Now we are in the right frame of mind for the cup game and confident of going through.

Sylvinho:

We were missing games like these. We played well. The first goal is always the hardest because they were very defensive. Until Gudjohnsen scored there was a game but from then on we could play our way.

Pedrito:

I was pleased with my debut, and especially the win. The team treated me well and I thank them for it. It was a thrill to make my debut at the Camp Nou. I still can’t believe it. I want to thank everybody who has shown their faith in me.