Valdés' air of resignation after Barça draw
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Article summary
Keeper Víctor Valdés concluded that it was "best to write the night down to experience" as his FC Barcelona side reached the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League despite a 1-1 draw at home against FC Basel 1893.
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Iniesta injured
Matchday 4 at the Camp Nou eventually saw Josep Guardiola's side reach the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League but it came at a cost to their creativity for the next month and a half. Although the initial medical opinion will be followed up with further examinations, the early verdict is that the thigh muscle problem suffered by the Spanish international midfielder might well keep him out until late December.
Unique qualities
Valdés was deeply upset for his team-mate. "It's a terrible time for this to happen to Andrés and we are all very disappointed," he said. "If you lose an Andrés Iniesta from your team then there is no replacement. He has qualities which are unique and we are going to miss lots of things which he brings to our game. This result means we are in the knockout stages of the tournament but we want to win the group and we are about to enter a really tough spell in the league."
Busy schedule
Iniesta was easily Barça's best player in the first half of the 1-1 draw but knew midway through the second period that he was badly injured, immediately sitting down on the turf with no opposition player near him and grimacing both in pain and disappointment. "It's the kind of thing which can happen to a club which is pushing to win two or three big competitions and we do have a deep squad," added Valdés. "But we'll give Andrés lots of support and encouragement to get back quickly because we need him."
No explanation
Valdés refused to blame the low-key atmosphere amongst Barça fans at the Camp Nou for the slightly under-par performance from the 2006 European champions. "Obviously in a match like this you'd like strong support from the stands but I just don't want anything to be blamed for the performance or the result," said the goalkeeper. "The job should have been done. We created many, many chances and Basel took advantage of the only real opportunity they created. The run we were on had to end eventually but we've not lost, only drawn, and it's best to write the night down to experience."