Frank Rijkaard Quotes (53 Quotes)

It's the same with all games at this level. When you're 1-0 ahead there's no peace of mind. That's why we had to work and battle until the end.

I think we deserved to get through and I congratulate the players. We said before the game that nothing was decided and that we had to play a good team which is very dangerous. We did well and we didn't give away many chances.

Deco was brilliant against Mallorca. He played like he did last season. He made some great challenges, worked really hard and made some very intelligent passes.

Milan is a very strong team which has been at the top for a long time.

I can't fault my players. They worked as hard as always. We created a lot of chances but we missed out on a victory because of the woodwork and goalkeeper Bonano, who did really well,

Samuel showed he can rise above the circumstances, contributing to the team's victory.

The defeat will wake us up and should act as a useful lesson that we can't relax.

The game was more open before the sending off. We just didn't have enough patience or perhaps we have to improve our lack of luck in front of goal.

I cannot say at this moment whether it was the right decision or not. The only thing I can say is that it is good that we did not use any energy as the decision was a long time in coming. We waited quite a while for the decision to say if we played or not. There was a lot of suspense and that was not good.

Es muy importante porque indica que queremos trabajar juntos en el proyecto, seguir dando una buena imagen del club.

It's true that we've lost two games recently, but we have to stay calm and get back on track.

We controlled the came but we played too deep.

This was another victory for hard work. You can't always win games just simply by being much better than your opponent.

We earned ourselves three very important points. We played well and created plenty of opportunities and now we can focus on the Milan match. The only negative aspect was the injuries, but we hope they aren't too serious.

We had to wait a long time to see if they would play the game. The good thing, though, is that we didn't have to use any energy.

There's no point in conducting a witch-hunt. We just have to work on making sure this never happens again.

We showed great pride to avoid defeat although I can't congratulate my players for drawing, ... It was only when we were losing 2-0 that some players lost their fear of wasting a pass.

This game is our big opportunity to consolidate ourselves as one of the top clubs. We're a young team that still has a lot of hunger for victories, but it's time to show it at the international level.

It was a shame. Samuel is a human being and he felt bad on the field but I was pleased with the attitude of his teammates who told him to continue. It's a shame that things like this happen.

I have played a lot of times against Milan as a player and coach, so it's really just another game.

We did our job very well and this win opens the door to the championship,

Ronnie and Samuel were very intelligent. One spotted the space and the other reacted very well to the pass. Between them they invented a goal.

We did our job and took the points and we're happy with that. This is just as important a win as any other even if the game wasn't particularly attractive. We ensured they had few chances and scored three times ourselves. They were happy to sit back and let us come at them and that meant the game wasn't too attractive, but we had to be on our guard against their counter attacks and we did that well.

I can't fault my players. We created a lot of chances but we missed out on a victory because of the woodwork and goalkeeper Bonano, who did very well.

It is clear we are going to the miss them, and I have no explanation for the number of muscle injuries we are collecting.

We didn't play well. I asked the players to up their performance levels at the break. We gave the ball away too easily and when you push up you give the opposition too many chances on the counter if you lose the ball.

Although we are not happy with the draw, it is quite a good result for us. We remain on the right course and if we keep working hard we will improve. At this stage of the season the best is still to come.

It could have been a penalty. But the referee is the one who has to judge and he thought that Motta acted involuntarily.

When you are leading 3-1 it's normal to win, but not today. We deserved more, because at 3-2 we still had control of the game.

This was a big result for the players and the club.

Today just wasn't our day.

He has just played two very important games and he suffered a knock in the last one. He needs time to recover properly.

This is bad news for the team especially for the midfield.

I saw a lot of good things today, such as our defensive strength and the way Deco played, but we still are not 100 per cent, ... Little by little we are getting there, although it wasn't the most attractive game because we had to play against a solid defensive wall, but that's always going to be the way (in the Nou Camp).

I work the same because the players, the club and the fans deserve it. My main concern is the team and I do not like to get involved in negotiating. I leave that to others.

It is extra motivation. He is calm and ready for the match.

He transmits a lot of joy and pleasure playing the game, and he has individual skills that are of such a high level that everybody in the world adores him.

(Milan) is a team with a lot of experience, a great system of play and a very strong defense. It will be very interesting to see how we react against an opponent of this nature.

We did everything we could to win this game on a tricky pitch. We created a lot of opportunities but between the posts and Bonano, we failed to find the goal. We did well but we let a victory slip from our grasp,

This is a moment for us to be relaxed and content. Before the game we were concentrated only on the job ahead. There were obviously some nerves in our play but this is what you would expect in a game like this when you get to this stage of the competition.

Mathematically after this latest game we've taken another step towards the league title which each time is getting that little bit closer.

He isn't in the squad because I wanted to give him a rest.

He's a great player, at any moment he can make a difference.

He needs more time. It might be good for him to have a change of scenery and recover completely. He will return when he has recovered.

Today wasn't our day. We were below par. We have to react and rediscover the form we've shown up to now.

The moment will come and up until now the board have been thinking of other things. We have barely finished the holidays, we have had an assembly and also 'Ronnie's' contract. Apart from this the contract is only a piece of paper and I will work the same for Barcelona with or without it,

We are starting at zero again, but with confidence. We are out to defend the honour.

We will have bigger games than this and against better opposition and we have to be careful. We cannot afford the luxury of making things more complicated than necessary.

I'm really pleased with the attitude of the boys tonight. They took the game really seriously, and didn't relax even towards the end.

He's almost impossible to leave out because he's enormously talented but we've had chances and scored goals in the last two games, which have shown that we can function without him.