FC Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdés is still young but already being considered one of the Blaugrana´s best goalkeepers ever. Victor Valdés has been Barcelona’s first choice stopper for four seasons and his career has gone hand in hand with the side’s brilliant progress under Frank Rijkaard. He has been constantly improving over the years. Only five Barca goalkeepers in the entire history of the club have made more first team appearances than Valdés and those were such legendary figures as: Zubizarreta, Ramallets, Sadurní, Artola and Velasco.


But Valdés does not want to be remembered for his individual appearances. The Barca shotstopper wants to be remembered for the titles and silverware his team has won. He is as ambitious as ever, as he explained in an exclusive interview with Barca TV:


Barca TV: At 25 years of age, it could be said that you are still at the beginning of your career, yet you are already one of the goalkeepers that has played the most matches for FC Barcelona.


Victor Valdes: “The press likes to point this out to me, but it is not something I am overly concerned about. I still have a long way to go, I hope, and what I really want is to be remembered for the titles I win, not the number of games I play.”


Barca TV: I don’t know if you are interested, but you have nearly reached 200 official appearances, and still have many years left in you.


Victor Valdes: “I have looked after myself, and I hope I still have a long career ahead of me. And I would like to see out my career here at Barça, but there is a long time still to go. I have to be prudent and take things step by step.”


Barca TV: Do you feel that this is the best moment of your career so far, and that you are appreciated more than ever?


Victor Valdes: “I cannot say that this is the best moment, because there is still a lot ahead of me. But these are great times both for the team and for me individually. We have had some successful moments, and still are. And as for the fans, I have always felt loved.”


Barca TV: When you look back on when you first started out with the first team, how do you feel you have improved the most?


Victor Valdes: “I many ways, but there are still things I need to improve. Technically, I owe a lot to Juan Carlos Unzué, who has done the most to bring out the best in me and correct what was wrong, and polish things off. But his main achievement is what he has done with me psychologically, he has helped change my character and to set the kind of targets that he shares with me.”


Barca TV: Do you feel that the position of goalkeepers is changing, and how?


Victor Valdes: “I think football is getting better all over. Nowadays we have access to far more methods than we used to, and that is very important in the way players train. Goalkeepers can get a lot out of the way new way teams train, and we can’t complain, because here at Barça we have got everything.”


Barca TV: You will play Getafe in the cup semi finals, and this is the only tournament that the current Barça has never won.


Victor Valdes: “ Getafe are having a good season and it will be a tough match. We are at home in the first match and we will need to get a good result. The Copa del Rey is very important to us, we value it as highly as a European Cup, and it is a trophy we can win. If we win the League and Cup, that would be great for us.”


Barca TV: But Jorquera plays in cup matches, do you find it tough watching games from the bench?


Victor Valdes: “You suffer just the same, especially when you’re not winning. Goalkeepers suffer for many reasons whether they are on the pitch or on the bench.”


Barca TV: What do you think when you hear so much talk of the system the team uses? Do you think there is too much talk depending on the results?


Victor Valdes: “I think the 3-4-3, when we used it for the first time against Zaragoza, attracted a lot of attention because the Dream Team played like that. I think it’s a good system for us to use as long as we have the ball. 4-3-3 is the system we have always used with Rijkaard.”


Barca TV: Does it affect the way you play?


Victor Valdes: “Yes, if we play with a free 3-4-3 the defence is a bit nearer to the area and that means I don’t have to come out so much in order to cover the space between the defence and the goal. It’s different with a 4-3-3, because the defence moves forward and there are more spaces between the keeper and the defence.”


Barca TV: It’s the run in to the end of the season and the league is more open than it has been for five years with 4 sides that can aspire to the title.


Victor Valdes: “What’s clear is that our fate in our own hands. The fixture list is favourable to us and we need to take things step by step as we have done in other seasons. True, the league is more irregular in terms of results, and that’s why we are coming to the end with everything so much more even.”


Barca TV: This group’s experience of the last few years has to be of help.


Victor Valdes: “No, because any team can cause you problems, you can go to some grounds that from outside may look like easy places to win or vice versa. There have been a lot of surprises in this league but we are aware that our destiny is in our own hands.”


Barca TV: You hadn’t won away for four months but are still top of the table. That shows how even this league is and perhaps people have over-dramatised some things.


Victor Valdes: “Could be. If you don’t win you should expect criticism because people always want us to win home and away. The Huelva result was a good one for us because we had ten days after it without any games and people can say a lot of things in that time, and it is much better for the atmosphere to be favourable.”


Barca TV: And your direct rivals still have to play each other, and that gives you a certain advantage.


Victor Valdes: “It is an advantage as long as we win our games. Yes, they do still have to face each other but we have to win our games, and it won’t be easy. In theory it’s an advantage, but let’s see what happens.”

English Premier Champions Chelsea FC have reportedly given current European Champions FC Barcelona permission to speak to unsettled winger Arjen Robben about a summer switch to the Nou Camp.
Barca have been strongly linked with a transfer of Dutch international Robben recently, as a potential alternative to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.



According to reports on Dutch TV, Blues winger Robben is free to talk to Barca, although both clubs deny officially that they've made any contact. The reports claim Chelsea is holding out for a transfer fee in the region of € 23 mill. Arjen Robben is currently contracted to Chelsea FC until 2009

FC Barcelona´s Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho is the first foreign athlet who advertises in Russia. Ronaldinho´s international marketing value has also been discovered in Russia. Barca´s Ronnie is advertising chips (a division of Pepsi Cola) on russian television. This makes Ronaldinho the first foreign sportsman who appears in a Russian TV advertisement spot.

Over 7 Mill. viewers followed the UEFA Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Benfica on TV. This figure results in a market share of 41.9 %. RTVE reported that the "Golden Minute" was at 22.07 h when over 9 Mill. viewers (49.3 % market share) were following the match in front of the TV at this point. This was at the moment when Ronaldinho was taking a freekick in a dangerous position near the penalty box

Good news for all Barça fans all over the world. The FC Barcelona match home at Camp Nou against Benfica will be covered by plenty of international Televisions stations. You can watch your favourite team on Wednesday, 5th April at:

www.fcbarcelonablog.com</font> wishes all Barça fans in the world and exciting match with the best result!
Go Barça Go! Visca el Barça i Visca Catalunya!


Here are the odds for the game.


FC Barcelona 1,28

Draw 4,50
Benfica Lisbon 10,50


To place your bet click here