TalkSoccer - Soccer / Football Forum - View Single Post

Magical20 · 27-11-2006, 05:41 PM

Deco believes that winning the league this sesaon will be harder than ever for FC Barcelona, but the return to form witnessed at the weekend has given everyone at the club a real boost.

The Portuguese international was in inspirational form in the victory against Villarreal on Saturday as he helped Barça to a 4-0 victory and to maintain their grip on first place in the table with 29 points. Sevilla though are just behind and Real Madrid sit three points away, as both rivals picked up useful away victories.

"The league will not be easy this year," Deco said. "Madrid are winning, which is very important, and Sevilla are playing very well and also winning games. But the vital thing is what we are doing. In the last games we have improved and the team is now returning to the form that we payed at before. We know though, that we will have to fight until the end."

Pre-season effects

The win against Villarreal saw the Blaugrana equal their best ever start to a league campaign, a record set just two years ago. Despite that questions still remain about how much the strenuous pre-seson programme has affected the players, but Deco understands the reasons why the club chose to go on a pre-season tour of the United States. "The majority of players did have a pre-season," he said. "Half of the squad were at the World Cup and did not have time to do the preparation that the coaching staff would have liked. If we were playing for another club perhaps we could have done a normal pre-season, but are at Barça and it is normal that things like this happen."

The early season difficulties do appear to be receding: "When we work hard small things start to happen," Deco continued. "It is normal that without a pre-season after the World Cup, and without having a base to build on that things do not go completely as planned, but gradually we are finding our form."

Better not to sign

The number of injuries has also become a major talking point and despite the team continuing to win games, there are rumours that the club may look to bring in a new face during the winter transfer window. "Whether anyone comes in or not is a matter for the club," Deco stated. "It is matter for the coaches as well, but not the players. Every season with endure some difficulties (with injuries) and have to stay strong. At the moment we are doing well. In January and February the players will rturn and if we make a signing we may have too many people."

Ballon D'Or

On Monday, Fabio Cannavaro is expected to be awarded the Ballon D'Or and Deco reflected on the reasons why the Italian World Cup winner had been chosen over some of the Barça players, including himself, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. "He deserves it," the former Porto midfielder said. "When there is a World Cup it is easy to forget how he played all year, but he was also great in the World Cup."

(fcbarcelona.com)

27-11-2006, 05:41 PM	#35 (permalink)
Magical20 Banned Favourite Team: Fc Barcelona Magical20 is Offline Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Somewhere supporting the: "KEEP SAVIOLA" foundation...1639 Km From The Nou Posts: 2,719 vCash: 500 Rep: Rep Points: 406 Country:	Deco: "We will fight until the end" (27 Nov 2006) Deco believes that winning the league this sesaon will be harder than ever for FC Barcelona, but the return to form witnessed at the weekend has given everyone at the club a real boost. The Portuguese international was in inspirational form in the victory against Villarreal on Saturday as he helped Barça to a 4-0 victory and to maintain their grip on first place in the table with 29 points. Sevilla though are just behind and Real Madrid sit three points away, as both rivals picked up useful away victories. "The league will not be easy this year," Deco said. "Madrid are winning, which is very important, and Sevilla are playing very well and also winning games. But the vital thing is what we are doing. In the last games we have improved and the team is now returning to the form that we payed at before. We know though, that we will have to fight until the end." Pre-season effects The win against Villarreal saw the Blaugrana equal their best ever start to a league campaign, a record set just two years ago. Despite that questions still remain about how much the strenuous pre-seson programme has affected the players, but Deco understands the reasons why the club chose to go on a pre-season tour of the United States. "The majority of players did have a pre-season," he said. "Half of the squad were at the World Cup and did not have time to do the preparation that the coaching staff would have liked. If we were playing for another club perhaps we could have done a normal pre-season, but are at Barça and it is normal that things like this happen." The early season difficulties do appear to be receding: "When we work hard small things start to happen," Deco continued. "It is normal that without a pre-season after the World Cup, and without having a base to build on that things do not go completely as planned, but gradually we are finding our form." Better not to sign The number of injuries has also become a major talking point and despite the team continuing to win games, there are rumours that the club may look to bring in a new face during the winter transfer window. "Whether anyone comes in or not is a matter for the club," Deco stated. "It is matter for the coaches as well, but not the players. Every season with endure some difficulties (with injuries) and have to stay strong. At the moment we are doing well. In January and February the players will rturn and if we make a signing we may have too many people." Ballon D'Or On Monday, Fabio Cannavaro is expected to be awarded the Ballon D'Or and Deco reflected on the reasons why the Italian World Cup winner had been chosen over some of the Barça players, including himself, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. "He deserves it," the former Porto midfielder said. "When there is a World Cup it is easy to forget how he played all year, but he was also great in the World Cup." (fcbarcelona.com)