Defensive steel delights Rijkaard
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Article summary
Even though he singled out the "spectacular" Ronaldinho for praise, Frank Rijkaard was quick to hail FC Barcelona's defensive strength against Chelsea FC.
Article body
Although he singled out the "spectacular" Ronaldinho for special praise, the FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard was quick to hail the way his side gave Chelsea FC "very few chances" to fight their way back into their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie. Following a 2-1 win in London, Barça ensured their progress with minimal fuss tonight by drawing 1-1 at Camp Nou.
Frank Rijkaard, Barcelona coach
I'm not a person who believes in revenge. It was very important to go through in a wonderful tournament. For me it doesn't matter who we beat, we have to go on. I think the team worked very well and worked very seriously. We gave our rivals very few chances. The Ronaldinho goal was spectacular, not just because of the way he created it but also for the speed he showed. They defended very well and were very tough, but he worked the chance and did something very special, but then he's a special player. I'm very happy we've gone through against a great side - now we have to keep on working. It was very hard to eliminate Chelsea, but we have to prepare ourselves for the next game because the level in the Champions League is so high.
José Mourinho, Chelsea manager
We played with ten men for most of the first leg so we didn't see two games of eleven against eleven. But having said that, Barça are a great team and we wish them the best of luck. At this level, small details make the difference and we now have to concentrate on the Premiership and FA Cup. Last season they watched the quarter-finals on television, this season it is our turn. The crucial result was at Stamford Bridge and the statistics show that when you lose 2-1 at home in the Champions League, it is very difficult to turn the tie around. Barca played a different game today, they were more defensive, they pressured hard. We knew we needed to score a goal and even if it had arrived in the 86th minute, we would still have had a chance. I now want Benfica to win the competition. I'm Portuguese and even though I worked at Barcelona for four years, I want a Portuguese team to win the Champions League.
