Pique: "Milito is like a mentor to me"

Barcelona player Gerard Piqué gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.





The decision to return to Barcelona looks to have been the right one, you must be enjoying things.
I sure am. I'm delighted because the trust I'm getting from the coach is wonderful. A football player needs to feel backed by his 'boss' and Guardiola is a coach who is supportive and demanding at the same time. I'm grateful for that.

Playing with the team of your heart is a problem or something to be proud of?
For me, it's a true honour. It's what I have always wanted. Few people are fan of the club like I am and to me it's a child's dream that is coming true. But in this club you have a lot of culés. Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Víctor, Busquets...

But now everyobdy has an opinion about you.
And I love it. I'm one of them. I'm living with this club since I got aware of things and if this is the price I have to pay to play here, no problem.

The methods of Guardiola seem strange to you or they can be compared to those of Ferguson?
Guardiola is the most modern and professional coach I have known. The one who is most looking at the details and the one who is the most crazy about football. It's a pleasure to work with him.

Give us some examples.
There are thousands. The details of the set pieces, the analysis of the opponent, the continuous motivation...

When Guardiola calls you to come training the day of the game and let you free for the rest of the day, you're returning to your place in the afternoon?
Always. I could stay with my parents or my grandparents, but I like to go home, lay down, take a nap, watch a dvd and then return to the stadium.

You're afraid to lose your spot if Milito returns?
I will never see Milito as a rival because he has helped me a lot since we played together in Zaragoza. Despite him being injured since I arrived here, we're talking a lot and I see him more as a mentor.

You're playing great at the moment.
I can't complain. I feel very good, things are going well and I'm totally focused on my work. The team is doing great and we're all very much involved.

How come you didn't play with the under-21 this week?
It's nothing. They told me that they wanted to try the next generation and you shouldn't look for anything else.

But you should be getting ready to play the World cup in 2010.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wouldn't say 'no', but South Africa still seems very far away for me now. At this moment I'm concentrating on Barça and winning a lot of trophies here.


This was the second and last part of this interview.

Read the first part here:

Piqué: "Ferguson's English sounded like Chinese"

Read more interviews with Barcelona players here