Víctor Valdés: "This victory is for Abidal"

The Barça squad dedicates the victory against Sevilla to Abidal. The players highlighted the difficulty of the match in the difficult Sánchez Pizjuán stadium, they’re confident that they will cut into Real Madrid’s lead.



The Barça players were pleased with tonight’s victory at the Sánchez Pizjuán. The team continues to fight for the Liga and they aren’t giving up. “It was a very difficult match, like it always is against Sevilla. We have to keep on doing out part, we have to win all of our matches and hope that the distance is reduced,” said Víctor Valdés.

“Being realistic, it’s very complicated [to win La Liga]. They have a big advantage, our obligation is to go out and try to win all of our matches and wait for Real Madrid to falter. We’re professionals.”

Abi, this victory is yours

Valdés, along with the rest of his teammates, wanted to encourage Éric Abidal. “This victory is for Abidal. These are difficult times that we must overcome. However, with the strength and confidence that Abidal has, I’m sure that he’ll come out of this one,” said the keeper. Valdés also talked about Messi’s spectacular goal. “Another one for Messi. It was an amazing goal,” said Valdés.

He went on to say that he was impressed the by the initiative that the young keepers at La Masia are showing. Valdés helped in a training session that involved all the keepers from the youth system, an experience that he didn’t hesitate to talk about: “I know what it means to play in the Barça youth system, for a first-team player to come down and to talk to you about the game is great. We need to do it more often,” he said.

Praise for Sevilla

Finally, the Barça keeper analysed Barça’s rival: “Míchel always wants to play the ball and it wasn’t an easy victory. We played a very good game against a team that has very fast wingers. I also want to highlight Palop’s performance, he made a lot of great saves.”

Here are the statements made by the Barça players after the match:

Gerard Piqué:

“We played a good game. The Sánchez Pizjuán is always a difficult place to play, we dominated the first half. In the second we controlled the match.

“We have to be by Abidal’s side and give him our love and esteem.

“We have to forget about what happens outside the pitch and start the game off concentrated. The fact that we don’t have Abidal is harsh. We’ll try to be with him but on the pitch we have to do our jobs well.

“We keep on winning three points each week, it’s time to see what happens [with Real Madrid]. We have to keep on fighting.”

Sergio Busquets:

“It’s a very important victory, we have to try and cut into their lead.

“We played a very good first half, we could have gone to the dressing room at half time with a bigger advantage. In the second half we had our chances, the result is fair.

“Sevilla played a good game, they have a great team and great players. We needed to control the match in the second half. In the end, we suffered a bit.”

On a possible Real Madrid defeat: “we always hope, but it’s not in our hands. Hopefully they’ll drop points.”

Cesc Fàbregas:

“We dominated the game in the first half. We could have clinched the game with a 0-4 [in the first half], but playing in Seville always means that you’re going to have a difficult match. They have very fast players.

“We’ll see if we get a chance to get back on track in La Liga. We want to win all of our matches.”

On Abidal: “as a player and a person he’s very committed, sincere and honest. It’s a shame, but we’re with him 100%”

Pedro Rodríguez:

“We have to take it a game at a time without losing points. Anything can happen.

“I’m finding it difficult to score, but I’ll keep on trying. We didn’t take advantage of all the chances we had in the game.” (via FCBarcelona.com)