OK, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but Getafe coach Michael Laudrup is certainly not keen not to see Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta line up at the Coliseum on Saturday.
The coach's mood has lightened considerably since Geta begun their recent run of winning form, and this manifested itself in the pre-Barcelona match press conference.
"Everyone's saying what a great player Ronaldinho is," he said. "The same goes for Xavi and Puyol. But, for me, the two have made a difference since the start of the season are Iniesta and Messi.
"Let's see if they catch the flu for Saturday, let's see if they catch a cold. Although, I doubt it, since they're having a great time in Barcelona."
By the standards of managerial interviews, that's Perrier-award winning stuff. Indeed, Geta fans haven't laughed quite as hard at something Barcelona related since our Azulones tonked the blaugrana 4-0 in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg last season.
"A Cup match is different; this is the league," observed killjoy Laudrup as a giggling fit broke out in the front row.
"Last year's Cup match is something unique and, perhaps, will not happen again. It's not logical that a team like Getafe beats Barcelona 4-0.
"It's a good memory for us, but we need to keep our feet on the ground."
Still, he holds out faint hope of a repeat.
"Barcelona win everything at home - but not away. That gives us hope that we can score," he said.
He's not wrong. Barça looked kickass midweek at the Nou Camp against Rangers, which is all the more impressive since the Glasgow side make Real Murcia look like Brazil 1970 in terms of attacking flair.
(Laudrup himself is no stranger to Barcelona's style, having played for them for five wildly successful seasons in the early 90s.)
The boss closed by saying that David Belenguer is still not 100% fit, and he'll allow the capitán to decide for himself whether or not he's ready to play.
Really interesting to come across your blog. I'm a writer, who's working on an idea for a book about Spanish fotball from a Brit's point of view.
ReplyDeleteI've just set up a website (well, it's more of a research project really) at http://spainfootball.webs.com - it'd be great to et to know you.