Kluivert happy to wait

uefa.com's UEFA Cup diarist Patrick Kluivert will watch the home leg of FC Barcelona's third-round tie against Brøndby IF from the sidelines due to injury. However, with his side holding a one-goal lead as they prepare to play at the Camp Nou, he is hoping for a safe passage to the fourth round.

By Patrick Kluivert

On Wednesday night, Brøndby come to the Camp Nou for the second leg of our UEFA Cup third round tie, but once again, I will be missing. My knee is still not completely healed and so the training staff feel it is better not to risk me. I need to do more work on my fitness before I am able to play for the first team, and with results going our way there is no pressure on me to come back before I am completely ready. It is better that I come back into the squad 100 per cent fit and able to give everything to the team, than to risk breaking down again and face an even longer spell on the sidelines.

Excellent form
It is always hard for any professional footballer to sit and watch from the stands, because you can't help but want to be involved. But it has been a pleasure to see my team-mates win six matches in a row in the Primera División. We are up to fourth now, and only four points behind RC Deportivo La Coruña, but still 13 points behind Real Madrid CF. It will obviously be very hard to catch them, especially if they keep winning games the way they are now.

First-leg success
As well as those six league victories there was, of course, our first-leg win away to Brøndby. It was a very significant result for us, and a very tough game. Brøndby made it quite difficult for us, even though we won in the end. They played, as expected, a very direct physical game - you could say a very English game - but we were able to play our own game and we created a lot of chances. Brøndby had their chances too, but I think it was only right when Ronaldinho struck a beautiful goal after 63 minutes. After that, we made sure of coming home with the result we needed, and it never looked as if they would upset us.

Match prediction
We expect the Danes to play a similar game in the Nou Camp, but they will have the added pressure of knowing they have to score. With our players, our preparation, and the form that we are in at the moment, I believe we will have too much for the opposition to cope with. Our confidence is sky high, our supporters will be behind us and I believe it will be our name that goes into the hat for the fourth-round draw. This is not to underestimate Brøndby, who are a strong side, it is just I have a lot of belief in the team to make our away goal count.

Valued team-mate
Finally, I wanted to mention how great it is to have my old friend Edgar Davids at Barcelona. He has given real strength to our midfield, and has played a huge role in our return to form. I have known Edgar for a long time and of course we played together for AFC Ajax when we won the UEFA Champions League. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to win another European trophy alongside him.

Patrick Kluivert's personal website is at www.icons.com.