Real Betis manager Gabriel Calderón isn’t concerned about off the field problems affecting Barcelona, ahead of their encounter at the Camp Nou on Saturday, as he doesn’t feel for one minute, it will affect how their players perform on the pitch.
Speaking in his press call ahead of Saturday’s visit to the Camp Nou, Gabriel Calderón first responded to questions regarding his team’s chances of survival, with only seven games of the season remaining.
“At most, we can only afford to lose one more game, but then we’d have to win the rest. We have to take things one game at a time. We know what it means for us going to Barcelona and who we’re playing against, but we’re going there with the intention of winning the game.”
Calderón believes Barca are used to overcoming the rigours of playing every few days, following their Champions League clash with Atlético Madrid and when asked if he has a formula for beating them, the Argentine coach pinpointed that keeping tight is the best way to frustrate their opponents.
“They’ll have recovered well enough, but regardless of that, we know how Barcelona play. We know they’re better than us and that they’ve only lost once at home. We’ll have to be well organised to control them and try to cause them harm when we attack.”
“There’s no formula that can guarantee beating them. We’ll have to defend well and not leave them any gaps. If we’re quick enough on the uptake, if they leave any spaces open, we can cause damage.”
Clearly much of the media attention surrounding Barcelona, is the news of the FIFA sanctions. Calderón doesn’t believe that or any injury problems they have, will lessen the strength of their team or their desire to play well and focus on their football.
“The institutional problems won’t affect anything about how they play. Also, those they have injured will be replaced with players who are just as good. They’re a leading team, champions, who play with different players and don’t have any problems doing that. We have to play our own game, trying to show belief we can win, beyond any of the problems they might have.”
Asked if he still believes Betis can cause an upset at the Camp Nou, Calderón remained positive and confident in his players.
“Of course I do. In all the games we’ve competed in since the one at Granada, we’ve always been competitive, including the defeat against Sevilla. We know that what we must try to do, is contain the play of Barca.”
There was also the acknowledgement that Barca can often thrash visitors at the Camp Nou, but Calderón insisted that such a beating isn’t a foregone conclusion.
“The normal thing there is that Barca win and can score a lot of goals doing so, but you have to play the game first. We’re not going there with the thought that they’ll score lots of goals against us, but rather that we can win the game. I’ve all the respect in the world for them and I’m aware they’re favourites, but we’ve got to play the game. We’re going there with the intention of doing well.”
Asked if there’s any particular players he fears facing, Calderón highlighted the qualities of Messi and Iniesta as two of the key driving forces in the Barca team.
“Messi and Iniesta can always make the difference. They’re all good players, but those two make their team tick. Iniesta is extraordinary and Messi is the best in the world. With those two, there’s already enough to be worried about.”
Finally, Calderón spoke about the injured players and who will be forming part of the squad for the game, along with who won’t.
“Verdú had to stop training for three days, because he still hasn’t recovered well enough. He still hasn’t. Paulao will travel with the squad, he’s fine now. Sara felt his back injury again, so we’re taking Pedro instead.”
Speaking in his press call ahead of Saturday’s visit to the Camp Nou, Gabriel Calderón first responded to questions regarding his team’s chances of survival, with only seven games of the season remaining.
“At most, we can only afford to lose one more game, but then we’d have to win the rest. We have to take things one game at a time. We know what it means for us going to Barcelona and who we’re playing against, but we’re going there with the intention of winning the game.”
Calderón believes Barca are used to overcoming the rigours of playing every few days, following their Champions League clash with Atlético Madrid and when asked if he has a formula for beating them, the Argentine coach pinpointed that keeping tight is the best way to frustrate their opponents.
“They’ll have recovered well enough, but regardless of that, we know how Barcelona play. We know they’re better than us and that they’ve only lost once at home. We’ll have to be well organised to control them and try to cause them harm when we attack.”
“There’s no formula that can guarantee beating them. We’ll have to defend well and not leave them any gaps. If we’re quick enough on the uptake, if they leave any spaces open, we can cause damage.”
Clearly much of the media attention surrounding Barcelona, is the news of the FIFA sanctions. Calderón doesn’t believe that or any injury problems they have, will lessen the strength of their team or their desire to play well and focus on their football.
“The institutional problems won’t affect anything about how they play. Also, those they have injured will be replaced with players who are just as good. They’re a leading team, champions, who play with different players and don’t have any problems doing that. We have to play our own game, trying to show belief we can win, beyond any of the problems they might have.”
Asked if he still believes Betis can cause an upset at the Camp Nou, Calderón remained positive and confident in his players.
“Of course I do. In all the games we’ve competed in since the one at Granada, we’ve always been competitive, including the defeat against Sevilla. We know that what we must try to do, is contain the play of Barca.”
There was also the acknowledgement that Barca can often thrash visitors at the Camp Nou, but Calderón insisted that such a beating isn’t a foregone conclusion.
“The normal thing there is that Barca win and can score a lot of goals doing so, but you have to play the game first. We’re not going there with the thought that they’ll score lots of goals against us, but rather that we can win the game. I’ve all the respect in the world for them and I’m aware they’re favourites, but we’ve got to play the game. We’re going there with the intention of doing well.”
Asked if there’s any particular players he fears facing, Calderón highlighted the qualities of Messi and Iniesta as two of the key driving forces in the Barca team.
“Messi and Iniesta can always make the difference. They’re all good players, but those two make their team tick. Iniesta is extraordinary and Messi is the best in the world. With those two, there’s already enough to be worried about.”
Finally, Calderón spoke about the injured players and who will be forming part of the squad for the game, along with who won’t.
“Verdú had to stop training for three days, because he still hasn’t recovered well enough. He still hasn’t. Paulao will travel with the squad, he’s fine now. Sara felt his back injury again, so we’re taking Pedro instead.”