Marquez: "I have to repay Guardiola for his trust"

Barcelona player Rafael Márquez gave an interview to the club's official media.





When you signed for Barça in 2003, did you think you would go on to make 200 appearances?
I don’t know. I’m one of those who just enjoys the moment, the present, and perhaps I don’t think much about the future. But I have to say that holding down a first team place in such an important team for so long has not been easy, it’s been a lot of work. If I have come this far, it’s because of the confidence the managers have shown in me, both Frank Rijkaard before and Pep Guardiola now, and also the directors and the fans who have always supported me.

You are one of the veterans in the squad, and one of the ones who has been in the first team the longest. Do you feel like a leader, an important player?
Yes, I have been here for several seasons and the truth is that the team and the coach have made me feel important and that gives me confidence and of course more responsibility to make sure I do my job well.

Thanks to you, is there more support for Barça in Mexico?
I think so. A lot of people follow me in Mexico and there are people who might have supported somebody else before and now follow Barça. But I think that is also because Barça is a great club and has achieved important things.

You have had two hard years with the team, winning no titles. Now the dynamic seems to have changed and the good results and good football have returned.
Yes, I think that starting a new phase with a new manager has turned over a new leaf and the whole team has resurged. We are also ambitious to win and that’s important because for two seasons we weren’t good and let important things go by.

Guardiola has always supported and confided in you. Are you grateful for that?
Of course, he has trusted me from the start. We had a chat at the end of last season when he became the coach and it was nice because he gave me a lot of confidence and I’m grateful for what he did. Now I have to repay him for the trust by playing well for the team.

Guardiola has changed some habits and routines such as not staying in a hotel before ten o’clock fixtures. Is the team grateful?
It really is better for us. Spending so many hours in a hotel is a real drag and being with the family and getting some rest gives you more confidence and motivation and even more responsibility. The team has taken the idea on well and that is reflected on the pitch.

This season, the results are coming. The team is top of the League and into the second round of the Champions League. There is excitement in the air.
You have to take things bit by bit, game by game, which is what we are doing. I think we have to stay humble and work with the sacrifice we are putting into games, and in the end we’ll be rewarded for that. But it is important to stay calm, that’s essential right now.

Barça have scored more goals than anyone in Europe, and also let in the least. Is the team solid at the back?
We are all working hard, from the strikers to the goalkeeper. We are working very hard in defence, helping each other, there’s a lot of support. All that means we don’t let in many goals. It also helps to have a good goalkeeper like Valdés, that’s essential.

This year you have scored a lot of goals from set pieces. You have scored two goals yourself from corners.
Yes, because those actions are important to us. Strategy is always important as it brings wins, important points. We work on them before games and this is an area on which Guardiola puts a lot of emphasis on in order to get results.

We are seeing the best of Rafa Márquez. We can see you are enjoying playing again.
Yes. For the last two seasons perhaps I was not at my best but now I am lucky enough to be injury-free, I have no problems, and I’ll try to stay that way and at this level. I am helping the team and enjoying the football we’re playing. I think if it all stays that way, it’s unlikely that we won’t win any titles this season.

read the full interview here


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Barcelona wants Van Persie for the left wing

Madrid sports tabloid Marca unconfirmedly claims that Barcelona is interested in Arsenal winger and Dutch international Robin van Persie (25).

Barcelona wants to sign Van Persie next summer since Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola and Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain see the player as the ideal candidate to fill the gap on the left wing.

Barcelona would already have sounded out the entourage of the player and Van Persie would be delighted about joining Barelona.

The Dutch wing attacker has given Barcelona the green light to start talking with Arsenal but the English Premier League club, that has offered the player to renew his contract, nevertheless doesn't seem to be willing to let Van Persie go next year.

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Caceres doesn't want to leave on loan in January

Asked if he would consider consider leaving Barcelona in January because of the lack of playing time, Barcelona defender and Uruguay international Martín Cáceres (21) has said at a press conference that a loan is not an option right now:

"I could consider a loan move if my situation at the club doesn't change but then we're already talking about the long term. That would be something for the future, I'm not thinking about it right now.

I have not felt disappointed at any moment so far. At this moment I'm relaxed, although I recognize that it's very difficult to find a spot in the team because everything is going that good this season.

I'm not getting a lot of chances to play but that's not a big problem at this moment. I cannot complain and I can only keep on waiting. But when this would continue like this for a longer period, of course one will start thinking about a move.

I'm ready to play when needed and I'm not feeling extra pressure when I can play. I try to take advantage as much as possible of the minutes the coach gives me and to show what I can. Like with the others, Guardiola always tries to help you understand what he wants you to do on the pitch. I'm happy to be at a big club and generally speaking I'm learning a lot during my first season at Barça."

Read more:
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Guardiola wants players' feet on the ground

Guardiola:
I have to keep my players with their feet on the ground...

Messi:
And not like those from Madrid who had their feet on my legs for the whole game

(click the cartoon to enlarge)

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Henry: "I'm a bit of a loner beause of my youth"

Barcelona player Thiery Henry gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.





We'll talk about everything. It's not that I'm bored with football, I love the game. But it's good to talk some more about other things. Only talking about football is fatiguing.

They accuse you of being disgruntled.
It's now one and a half year that I'm talking about the same things, answering the same questions. When you talk about other things, about the city, about where I come from, what I'm thinking of, that's when you are able to get to know a person. There are a lot of things behind the person you see.

Well, let's start with Les Ulis, the place where you were born.
It's a district a few kilometres from Paris. I learned a lot of things out on the street. If I could choose, I would do it all again. I am who I am thanks to my father. I saw hard things when I was a child but I was lucky to have very correct parents. Sometimes I didn't understand why my friends could go out at night. They came looking for me at my place and I saw them through the window. That frustrated me. While they were enjoying themselves outside, I asked my mother why I couldn't go out. The answer was always 'no' and it hurted a lot.

You're describing a complicated adolescense?
Almost all my friends from that time are in prison now. It wasn't easy to get out of there. But I understand that if you're a father, you need to be severe in a neighbourhood like that. Ours was complicated, although it wasn't a slum area. There are a lot of young guys who don't listen to their parents and that's a problem. Mine were strict but that way I was able to get somewhere.

Tell me something about your family.
My mother is Maryse and my father Antoine. I have two brothers, Willy and Dimitry, my half-brother. My father left home when I was eight years old. I left the area when my father went away although I never stopped seeing him. When I got out of there, it was clear to me that I had to walk a straight line in my life. I felt that I had to do something. I was alone in the house with my mother, Willy was in the army and I noticed that I was unsettled.

This has affected you?
People don't understand why I'm a bit of a loner but that's the reason. My brother was in the army and I was at home alone, being eleven years old. I felt like I was the only child. I couldn't go out and that explains why I like to be alone. I had to do something and, luckily, football was a way to escape.

How did you start playing?
I started at Les Ulis, thanks to my father. I was just trying to make him feel happy. He took me to the stadium and I saw that he was more happy than I when I was playing. All children want to do something for their father, but at that time football wasn't the number one priority in my life.


This was the first part of this interview. You will be able to read the other parts in the coming days with henry talking -among other things- about his relationships and his music taste.

Read more interview with Barcelona players:
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