Keita: "We're convinced we can win the treble"

Barcelona player Seydou Keita gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.





How do you feel in Barcelona?
I'n very happy here. In the beginning, the change is difficult because Sevilla and Barcelona are different... It actually seems another country.

Did it help that Dani Alves arived here together with you?
We're getting along very well and we supported each other a lot. Also on the pitch, because I know better than anyone how he plays. Sometimes, I open up the play to the wing without looking and he just appears there at the right moment.

You also had to adapt to the way of playing?
What surprised me the most during the first training sessions was the speed of execution, how fast the ball moved around, if possible only with one or two touches. I had to adapt to the fact that the ball should run rather than the player with the ball at his feet.

How would you define Barcelona's way of playing?
It's all about ball possession and positioning. Everybody knows where he should be and where his team-mate will be. The movements should be synchronized, both when we're pressuring to recover the ball as when we're attacking. During training sessions, the coach forms two teams and we need to play like we're going to play in the next game. We work this way the whole week and when the game is there, you perfectly know what you have to do and how you will play.

How important has Guardiola been for the success of this team?
Now it's very easy to talk about his qualities, because the team is winning everything and things are going excellent, but we all were behind him from the start. He has been crucial for the great season. Pep is a good person and that's the most important thing. He made sure we're all very strong mentally and he has created a very united group. There aren't two teams. There aren't eleven starters and eleven substitutes. Barça is one block and we're all going in the same direction.

What worries you the most from Manchester United?
Honestly? Nothing. I'll explain myself. Barça is the most important thing. If we will be able to play our game and fight like we've always done, there won't be any problem and everything will turn out well. A final is always difficult but you cannot think the whole time that they have Cristiano Ronaldo or Rooney... We're the thing that matters. Manchester isn't that different from us like Chelsea, which was just our opposite, but it's also an English team and they have strong people at the back who are great headers.

It will be a spectacular final...
Without any doubt. It seems that everybody is happy and that no one doubts that Barça and Manchester are the two best teams in the world. If we win the Champions League, I will be the happiest man in the world. Our heads are focused on that final and we're convinced that we can be the champions of Europe and win the treble.


This was the second and last part of this interview. You can read the first part here:
Keita: "I cannot start a final as left back"