Rijkaard Thread

[kennethlindheim]

Only Henry can replace Etoo.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Frank Rijkaard has downplayed his confrontation with the referee after Barcelona's 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

The Barca coach approached Italian official Stefano Farina at the end of the game to complain about only playing five out of an allotted six minutes of injury time.

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol had to drag Rijkaard away from the referee, but the Dutchman moved to defuse the situation.

"He blew up one minute before he should have done, but I'm not blaming that for the result," said Rijkaard.

"It was a battle on the pitch and it was interesting during the game and I went on because I wanted to thank the referee for his participation."

Rijkaard also refused to become embroiled in another row with Jose Mourinho, following the Chelsea manager's exuberant touchline celebrations when Didier Drogba scored a last-gasp equaliser.

"I was surprised by his reaction," added Rijkaard. "Obviously he was happy. It makes no sense for me to comment on him."

With Barcelona now third in Group A, Rijkaard admits the holders must beat Levski Sofia and Werder Bremen to qualify for the knockout phase.

He continued: "There's no margin for error now. We have to beat both teams and win our last two games.

"We just have to do it.

"We played a good match and showed a good attitude and the public recognised that.

"Chelsea played very well and created chances. They are a strong team. They play very hard."

Source: http://home.skysports.com

[Magical20]

Originally Posted by Oliver_Kahn

Saviola can't replace Eto'o mate, even though he is much better than Gudjhonsen.
Barcelona should look for a striker imo

i have to disagree with you on that one, mate

ok, eto'o scores and he scores A LOT but i do not think we need a new striker, and i do think saviola can replace eto'o

have you WATCHED saviola and messi play???!!!!

our two argentinians create miracles...

saviola may not be the sort of striker eto'o is, but he sure is good..and if he gets more playing time he will definently score for us.. he's supercreative and get's all our players...

...and rijkaard's already said they're not looking for another striker, so you'll have to settle for saviola eventually :P

[Oliver_Kahn]

Originally Posted by Magical20

i have to disagree with you on that one, mate

ok, eto'o scores and he scores A LOT but i do not think we need a new striker, and i do think saviola can replace eto'o

have you WATCHED saviola and messi play???!!!!

our two argentinians create miracles...

saviola may not be the sort of striker eto'o is, but he sure is good..and if he gets more playing time he will definently score for us.. he's supercreative and get's all our players...

...and rijkaard's already said they're not looking for another striker, so you'll have to settle for saviola eventually :P

Saviola + Messi, I've never watched them together.

Well Saviola > Gudjhonsen, so while Eto'o is injured and since Rijkaard won't sign a new striker, I'll settle with Saviola.

[Magical20]

well you should've .. that's the only thing i can watch once messi and saviola are on.. they make AMAZING COMBO'S its just incredible they understand eachother soo fffking well, it's like watching argentina

just pay attention to them tomorrow you 'll fall in love in no time... !!! you could go to www.lionelmessi.org and go to vids and watch some of the messi vs 'team' stuff.. you 'll see some MESSIOLA ACTION

[Oliver_Kahn]

I'll watch the Barcelona game tomorrow.

[Magical20]

wahha great :P

[BlackNess]

Rijkaard To Resign, Barcelona Chasing Wenger

Rijkaard To Resign, Barcelona Chasing Wenger - Report The Sun are sensationally claiming that Barcelona have been speaking with Arsene Wenger, not about Thierry Henry, but about signing the coach himself.



The report insists that Frank Rijkaard is set to step down as Barcelona coach following Real Madrid's title triumph on Sunday evening.

Many in the Barcelona camp believe that the Dutchman's limitations have been exposed this season, in the absence of former assistant Henk Ten Cate, who used to work closely with the players, and was also considered to be the tactical expert.

Rijkaard's hold on the squad is said to have slipped since Ten Cate's departure for Ajax, and his tactics have also come under scrutiny.

While Joan Laporta continues to publicly back him, The Sun insist that he will quit following the rather embarrassing collapse in the title race.

They also suggest that "the Spanish giants have made Arsenal boss Wenger their No 1 target to replace him."

'Senior sources' at the Camp Nou have supposedly claimed that talks are underway to bring him to the Camp Nou.

There was a meeting last week in France between Wenger and Barcelona vice president Ferran Soriano, which multiple reports had suggested was to discuss Thierry Henry's future.

The report insists it was not about Henry, but the coach himself.

Wenger has insisted he will see out the final year of his contract at Arsenal, but refused to sign a new deal. He is known to be very frustrated with the lack of funds to challenge for the big players, and David Dein's departure, and Barcelona are looking to hand him a blank cheque if he takes charge.

Should Wenger move, it will, needless to say, facilitate Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona as well. Cesc Fabregas is another player who has publicly pledged his loyalty to Wenger, and not Arsenal.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

I don't have much trust in this.

[lionel]

that's exactly what barca needs!! a new coach.. and there is no better to barca than wenger!!
wenger, henry & cesc! wow! a very sweet dream!
if it turns out to be true.. I think I'll become a socio!

[Diabolico]

I don't trust this rumor either, it seems too "convenient" to me. Sounds like just a clever extrapolation of recent events (Barça's failure to win the league, Henry's link with Barça) into something more sensational.

[Oliver_Kahn]

forget about it...

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has underlined that Frank Rijkaard will not be leaving the Catalan club during the summer.

Doubts had been cast over the Dutchman's future at Camp Nou after great rivals Real Madrid reclaimed the Primera Liga title during a dramatic last round of games in Spain on Sunday.

Barca raced to a 5-1 win at Gimnastic, but Real's comeback to beat Mallorca 3-1 ensured that Rijkaard's side ended the season empty-handed.

Reports in the English media on Tuesday claimed that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger could be a leading contender to replace Rijkaard in the Barcelona hot-seat in time for next season.

However, Laporta has now moved to quash any rumours by insisting that Rijkaard - who has won two league titles and the UEFA Champions League in Catalunya - will remain at the club as Barca aim to displace Real from the summit of Spanish football next term.

"Frank Rijkaard will be the trainer of Barca next season," Laporta told a press conference.

"He will tackle it with the maximum motivation. He knows the measures taken and he is conscious of the errors made.

"Rijkaard, after self-criticism and being conscious that there are things that have not worked, wants to continue and is very motivated with a desire to return to begin the new season"

During his press conference, Laporta also reiterated that the club, and Rijkaard, had no intention of selling either Samuel Eto'o or Ronaldinho in the summer.

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[lionel]

I can't believe they'll let rijkaard stay another year!! they are dumb or dumb!

rijkaard has 100% responsibility for the loss of the titles.. ( the 1-1 against betis.. letting gudjohnsen play.. the formation against liverpool and the posititioning of ronnie.. the 0-4 to getafe, leaving messi out.. the fights with eto'o..etc).
I remember last season. yes. but here's my explanation of why rijkaard turned 360 degrees:
last season( and the ones before) the 2nd manager( the assistant manager) was *-*-kaaten who leaved this summer and is now the manager of ajax.. I always felt that rijkaard did nothing without kaaten's advice. so, after he left, rijkaard has a very unimpressive assistant who can help him too much.. so we see now the real rijkaard.. the one he was before coming to barca. a loser.

why is laporta keeping him? god knows?

[Pat Murphy]

Well Laporta has said that Rijkaard will stay but Rijkaard has said absolutely nothing to the media about any of this and the first article says that Rijkaard will resign which is up to him and not Laporta.

That said I think Rijkaard will stay another year but a lot of Barca fans and La Liga watchers can clearly see that he makes some stupid decisions tactically and even last season when the CL was won most Barca fans still thought that he wasn't a great coach.

[lionel]

so why laporta isn't firing him? maybe he doesn't know much about football, but what about txikiki?can't he fire him?
I mean, if he doesn't resign himself.

imo, last season, ronaldinho was the coach not rijkaard
but those 2 subs in the CL final were very successful... is it luck?^^