Vilanova: "Details will decide the final"

Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.





Which team is the favourite to win the final?
They are the champions.

You've watched a lot of videos?
We're watching the videos, but in the end the players will be the ones out there. We can think about what could happen, but at this level they are the ones who are playing and who can decide this type of games.

What can decide a Champions league final?
The details. Last season it was decided by a slip of Terry. And because of that, everyone said that Manchester United were the good ones and Chelsea the bad ones. That's the unfairness of football.

Will there be a lot of goals?
They score a lot of goals and we are doing the same. So it's possible it will be a final with some goals.

Messi didn't appear in the celebration picture in 2006, Henry lost that final, Iniesta only came on as a sub… That's positive for Barça because these players are more motivated?
Yes, sure. Besides, Manchester United won it last season. So of course they want to win this trophy, that's logical, but they will always be a little less hungry than the team that didn't win it. In this case, we have to win that trophy from them. They did it before, they are defednding their title and it's up to us to try and get it from them.

With the Liga and the Copa won, the pressure is a little less for Barça?
No, pressure is something you put on yourself. I've never felt pressure from outside. Not now and not at the start of the season. It's nonetheless true that it's different to get to a final when you didn't yet win anything and this is your last chance to win something than when you've already won two trophies before. But after the effort we've made, coming through the preliminary rounds and with the great teams we have faced, now we have to be moved by hope and dreams rather than by pressure. The one who has more hope and willingness to win is the one who will win. Pressure isn't a good ting when you have to play a final.

When it comes down to trophies, you will be the best team in history if you win the Champions League?
If you only look at the trophies, we sure will be, because nobody has won the treble before. But that's not an extra motivation for me.

What moves you then? The desire to rest?
The desire to win.


this was the second and last part of this interview, you can read the first part here:
Vilanova: "The line-up is the last thing"

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

Vilanova: "The line-up is the last thing"

Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova gave an interview to Catalan spoprts paper Sport.





You've already decided the starting line-up?
You always try to anticipate things… We can do this, do that, but we'll have to see what will happen with the injured players. You can have some ideas about it though but there can change things at the last minute due to injuries…

The defense gives you the most headaches.
It's true that three defenders who have been first choice this season won't be there. That makes you think a lot but we'll find a solution. We're convinced that the players who will start will do well but we still don't know who they will be.

Keita is an option as left back?
First we have to look at other things and then to the line-up. That's the last thing.

Iniesta and Henry will only be ready at the last minute. Can't this be counterproductive?
The result will tell us. If they get there in time and we win, people will say we made the right choice. If they get there in time and play a good game but we don't win, they will say we made the wrong choice. There could also be people who wouldn't understand if they get in time but don't start from the beginning.

It's a matter of honesty?
They are the first to know if they're ready to play or not. If they're not ready, their performance won't be good and that will make them look bad. On the other hand, they also know that they can make the difference in half an hour. Maybe you cannot play 90 minutes but that doesn't mean you cannot play half an hour.

What do you expect from Manchester United?
It's a team who feels comfortable defending because they have a goalkeeper who's good at high balls, central defenders who are good headers and Carrick who can place himself between the centre-backs... They don't see a problem in putting a lot of people in their area and defend. It's a team that feels comfortable doing that, like Chelsea. And they have fast people up front and can play the counter-attack very well.

The absence of Fletcher is as important as the Barcelona ones?
Sure, but I have a clear opinion about the absences. There are players who will never play a Champions League final. Others will play only one. I thinks it's exaggerated that a player like Alves misses the game because of what the referee thought to be a series of fouls. If there's clear aggression, I agree, but not in this case. It would have been a good thing for the game if they all would have played.

The two best teams in the world are facing each other?
Manchester United is the best team in the world, they won the trophy last season. Although people seem to have forgotten about it we had to play a preliminary round. That's a fact. We're facing a team that, like us, has played great football this season. But on the other hand, we're also facing the reigning champions, who can count on Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most spectacular players in the world.

His duel with Messi will be one of the keys in the final?
Great players can always decide game, but they cannot win the games on their own. They need their team-mates.


this was the first part of this interview, you will be able to read the second part later today.

Read more:
Messi: "When we have the ball, we enjoy ourselves"
Xavi: "We have to go out there, win it and that's it"
Pique: "I will score in Rome"
Keita: "We're convinced we can win the treble"

Vilanova: "Pep and I are ready for the bad times"

Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova gave an interview to Spanish sports weekly paper Don Balón.





Is it possible to win the treble: Liga, Champions League and Copa?
At this moment, this possibility isn't crossing my mind. Two of those competitions are cup competitions with direct elimination and in those you have to be good ànd have some luck. When you're doing everything you should in the league, you have a big chance to win it because you depend more on yourself. In a cup competition a detail can decide everything. It's just very difficult and I'm not saying this to give a good image.

Who are the most dangerous rivals?
There's a lot of league left and if we drop back, each of the five or six teams behind us can come close if they win some games in a row. Historically speaking, Real Madird has of course always been the big rival but that doesn't mean that a team like Valencia is going strong, with a great squad and a coach who knows want he wants. We'll see how the other teams will deal with playing several competitions.

And which teams will be the biggest rivals in the Champions League? Manchester? Chelsea? Real Madrid?
As we speak, our most dangerous rival in the Champions League is Lyon. Sincerely, if you don't pass this round, you won't be able to think about the other teams.

Which of the two competitons would you like to win most: the Liga or the Champions League?
I would like to win both but having a closer look, I would prefer to win the Liga. In the Champions League you need to have some luck at certain moments. The Liga on the other hand means work, regularity, and the club didn't win it for two years. I think we should make a special effort to win the league again.

Are you prepared for when the bad moments will arrive?
Yes. I'm ready and I think Pep is too. We didn't change after the loss against Numancia and the draw againt Santander. I continue to think that the latter was one of our best games of the season, but we had problems scoring. When we prepared for the game againt Sporting Gijón, we were reminded several times that in case we lost that would be the worst start in the history of the club. So I think we're prepared. Since the beginning it's clear to us that we should do what we believe is right. So when we make a mistake, it will be our mistake. It won't be about the ideas of others.

Barça has the best squad in the world?
No. I think that, at this moment, the best squad, or one of the bests, is that of Manchester United and that's why they are the European and Intercontinental champions. At the end, the best squads are those that win, the others don't count.

You're a former youth player yourself and the youth players are very important for the current team, right?
They are extremely important. When you're away with the group and you see there are eight or nine players from the academy eating at one table, you're thinking: "This is Barça's first team, this is the highest you can get". It's impressive. Our players know each other for years, they know very well how the club is functioning, you know they will be united, that nothing can surprise them about the club, because they've been here since they were younger and they've lived everything. That's all very important and it makes our work easier.

You don't feel like everyone in Europe is jealous about you right now?
No. I think that people see Barça as a club that plays good football, both with and without the ball. It's very satisfying that they like our way of playing but good teams, good squads, are those that win and this team hasn't won anything for two years. We cannot consider ourselves the best as long as we don't win something.

There's talking about Villa or Van Persie for next season, although it doesn't seem the current squad needs to be changed a lot...
Well, the results will determine what will happen. When the team wins, people will think that one or two changes is enough and if the team stops wnning, everyone will say that players who are here for a long time will have to leave. And the same happens with the coach. Barcelona has an excellent squad and there aren't many changes needed, and even less because our players are quite young.

There's a lot of pressure coaching Barça?
I personally didn't notice that pressure. In fact, last year, in the fourth division with Barça B, the first year of Pep, where we had a difficult promotion play-off, the pressure was even higher, because everbody expected that we would promote. This year we know that we have a quality squad and that it will be our fault if the teams doesn't do well. So that's why I didn't feel the pressure until now. When we will start losing games, that's when we will start feeling the pressure of this club but at this moment, I'm just enjoying myself.


This was the second and last part of this interview. You can read the first part here:
Vilanova: "We might only be here for two years"

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Vilanova: "We might only be here for two years"

Barcelona assistant coach Vilanova gave an interview to Spanish football weekly paper Don Balón.






Are you surprised by how good things are going?
We're not surprised. We're just happy because we are now aware that we're capable of doing our job.

So when you took over, you were convinced that things would go well?
The truth is that we believed that we would be able to do the same with a more professional team and with different players as we did the year before with the second team, by just acting the same as before.

You have brought something new to Barcelona's way of playing?
I don't think we're doing something that hasn't been done before. Maybe we're combining some things from different coaches in our own way, but I don't think we've invented something new.

What is your main source of inspiration: Cruijff, Rijkaard or the Italian school Guardiola knew?
A bit of everything. It's already for some years now that the club's philosophy is based on ball possession. It's a way of seeing the game that was already used by Cruijff, by Van Gaal and by Rijkaard. Both Pep and myself knew that from our years at the youth teams and we're following that line. Starting from that, we might have introduced new tactical concepts, for example related to set pieces, although I don't really know how things were in the past.

What is the key to success of this team?
The key are the players, who are very good.

That's the only thing?
It's difficult to say what's exactly the key. The players are very important because they are extremely talented. They always try to execute what we ask them because they believe in what we tell them. They believe what Pep is saying and that's important.

When was the tandem Guardiola-Vilanova created?
We arrived together at Barcelona's youth academy, where I played one team higher than Pep. We spent many years at the Masía together and although we played in different cities, we kept seeing eachother every now and then over the years. Two years ago, when we both were living in Barcelona, we sometimes went our for dinner together and when they offered Pep to become the head coach of Barcelona B, he asked me if I wanted to be his assistant.

You both had that same mission to be a coach?
I had been a coach at Barcelona's youth academy and then both Figueres and Terrassa offered me to become sports director. I was attracted by the idea but what I really wanted was to coach. If I wouldn't have become the assistant of Pep that year, I would have found a deal with Terrassa to become their coach.

As a coach, Guardiola believes in long cycles or rather in short ones and he doesn't plan to be Barcelona's manager for a long time?
It's difficult to be for a long time at a big club. In England you can have a symbol like Ferguson but things are different there. It's not usual that a coach stays with Barça for many years, Rijkaard was even an exception in that perspective.

So the normal thing would be that you're in charge of Barça for three or four years?
Or two.

What are your objevtives for that period?
The objective is to win every game. I'm not capable of looking further than next week's game, I don't have something else in my head than that game. I know the match calendar, but as long as we haven't played the next game I cannot think about the following one. And it's the same with Pep.

But you give the impression to have everything well-planned at medium-term, looking at how you are rotating.
Yes, but you can always have an injury that messes up your whole plan. In some cases one player has to play one more game than planned because he needs to get some more confidence. Or the other way around, it's possible that we let a player who's performing well play more games so he can keep the confidence. We're dealing with that since the beginning of the season and we try to have everyone at the start of a game in good conditions because we have a very high playing rhythm. If the same players would alwyas play, we couldn't keep this rhythm.


This was the first part of this interview. You will be able to read the second part on this blog in the coming days.

Read more:
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The first impressions of assistant coach Vilanova
Vilanova: "It's important to talk straight"

Vilanova: "Iniesta is our best winter transfer"

Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.





If we see how the team is doing now, can we demand at least one trophy?
I don't know. We feel the obligation to play every game in a way that brings joy to the people. If you keeping winning matches, trophies will follow.

But if you keep this rhythm, the Liga could be decided in March...
You hear a lot of comments. Some say we won't be able to keep this going. I think we can keep it up physically because the players are doing great and there have been some rotations. I don't know if we will have a drop-back, but I have the feeling that the players are feeling good both at training as during the games.

And you can again count on Iniesta.
For us, it's a very important player. He's excellent, very, very good. We are happy because the team did well during his absence, but on the other hand I think he'll be our best possible winter transfer. With the motivation with which he will return, he'll overshadow everyone else on the pitch.

What do you think about the changes in Madrid?
I think it's good. The same happened two years ago when they were going through problems, they were able to create a positive atmosphere and they ended up winning the league. I would hope that we could also be that united when the team isn't doing well.

How is it to work with Guardiola?
The fact that we understand each other on the training pitch or when preparing the games, makes everything easier. Because he's the first one who arrives and the last one who leaves, he forces us to reach a higher level.

You think he could be the Ferguson of Barcelona?
I don't know. But for the time he'll be here, he wants to do a good job. If not, he prefers not to do it at all.

You think Henry has already fully adapted?
He gets better every day that goes by. The fact that he scored three times against Valencia maybe set him free and he's making good progress. His last three games were the best I can remember since he's at Barça. I'm convinced that he will have scored a lot of goals at the end of the season and that he will be important for us.

Can you ask more from Messi?
He's a player who asks a lot from himself. I think he's still very young and that he has therefore still a margin to get better. I don't know if he will set one more step, but he's very young so it's possible.

What about Eto'o?
I had heard that it was a player with a character, but I can only talk about what I have seen and for us he has been a person with whom it's easy to work. He has always acted in an educated way and if there's something he wants to tell you, he comes down and talks about it with you face-to-face. His attitude couldn't be better.

You give priority to some competition?
No. We're involved in all three with the same desire and motivation. The club hasn't won anything for two years so the fans wouldn't allow something else. Although you should have some luck with injuries, you should try to win them all.


This was the second and last part of this interview. You can read the first part here:
Vilanova: "It's important to talk straight"

Read more:
The first impressions of assistant coach Vilanova
Guardiola has his team in place
Vilanova talks: "They should run or play tennis"

Vilanova: "It's important to talk straight"

Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.





With ten points ahead of Sevilla, 11 on Atlético Madrid and Valencia and 12 on Madrid and Villarreal, who do you consider to be the main rival for the Liga?
I don't know, honestly. For a start, I don't know if we will be able to keep this rhythm going, if we will have a dip or get even better. And then you should still wait and see what the others will do. We'll have to go day by day.

And maintaining the rhythm will depend on what?
This has never been an easy club. Sometimes in the world of football, and you don't know why, everything that seemed marvellous starts to get more complicated and in two weeks the situation can turn around. Although if we keep this commitment, both in defense as in attack, we will be a team that's difficult to beat.

Taking into account the complexity of this club, is it important to be a good psychologist?
The players are intelligent enough to know these things, although it's good that Pep reminds them every now and then. But even then, the majority of the players have come from some marvellous years and afterwards, without knowing how or why, everything went down. That makes things much easier for us now.

You have been surprised by the capacity to react the players are having?
Not surprised. Although it's true that we have won some games at the end and that's always a good sign. Maybe I was more surprised with the pre-season because despite us having introduced new concepts, the players adapted quickly to it and we played and won in a good way.

What's your evaluation of the team so far?
I don't know. I would give them an "excellent". I don't know if it should be a 9 or a 10, but excellent for sure.

There's more pressure than with the second team?
I actually think that last year with Barcelona B we had more pressure than we have now.

Why was that?
Because it was the first year of Pep as a coach and we had the obligation to promote the team back to the third division. I don't know if we will feel more pressure once we start to lose, but for now I only felt pressure last season.

Your dealing with the dressingroom changed a lot compared with last year?
It's different, but that doesn't mean it's more or less difficult. One person is already something complicated and when several persons come together, it gets a lot more complicated. With the second team you have more authority because the players are motivated to get to the first team, while first team players are already there. But like in most other working places, it's important to talk straight and face-to-face with the player. Pep is very direct. If you're honest and straightforward, you will solve or even avoid the majority of the problems.

Is that the key to success?
I don't know if that's the key, but I do think it's very important that we all know that there are some basic rules of living together and of respect towards everyone that is working with them: coaches, masseurs, handymen...


This was the first part of this interview. You will be able to read the second part here in the coming days with Vilanova talking -among other things- about the performances of Henry, Messi and Eto'o.

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