Valdés shies away from star billing

Víctor Valdés is confident that FC Barcelona's strikers can take the spotlight off him by rediscovering their scoring touch in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against SL Benfica. The goalkeeper has no wish to be the hero of any penalty shoot-out.

'Play to win'
With the pre-match talk surrounding the Spanish club's sudden shyness in front of goal, Valdés believes his team will find their shooting boots before the 'dreaded lottery' is required. "I think it is more important to focus on the game and play well and go through by winning the match," he said. "I do not think it will come to penalties and relying on me. We need to continue creating chances and I think we will start scoring again."

'No favourites'
Despite Barcelona having the advantage of playing the deciding leg at Camp Nou, Valdés disagrees with Benfica boss Ronald Koeman's assertion that the home side are favourites. "There are no favourites at this level. Because we are playing at home it could appear that we have taken on that role, but I do not believe it," he stated. "In football you always play to win and we are totally focused on winning this match."

Praise for Benfica
With both teams creating enough chances to have earned a comfortable lead, Valdés was impressed by Benfica in last week's first leg - and recognises he could be in for a busy night. "We had many opportunities but they showed they are a very strong side and they also had their chances," he said. "I think it will be an open game and we have to be wary of their counterattacks."

Practice makes perfect
With the visitors expected to use the pace of Simão, Geovanni and Fabrizio Miccoli, Valdés and company will not want to be caught by surprise again, having been undone on the break by Real Madrid CF's Ronaldo last Saturday, in a 1-1 Camp Nou draw. "They have some very fast players," he said. "In training we have been practising ways of preventing the counterattack and I have been working on one-on-ones with the strikers. We know they can break very well, but we have worked hard on it.

Good omen
"We have another 90 minutes to win the tie and we will have to work very hard," the 24-year-old concluded. Valdés can at least take heart from the fact Barça beat Benfica at home after a Lisbon stalemate in their only previous European Champion Clubs' Cup-winning campaign of 1991/92.