Guardiola: “Rubin Kazan’s victory wasn’t a matter of luck”

November 4, 2009

Barcelona will be confronted with ice cold conditions during their clash with Rubin Kazan, Tonight. Barca boss Pep Guardiola is impressed by the Russian champions, who beat the Champions League title holders two weeks ago (1-2).

“It’s a perfectly organised team that’s able to counter-attack very fast,” the Catalan coach said ahead of tonight’s game. “We have to attack carefully. They can be really patient and then suddenly launch an attack with several players. Their victory in the Camp Nou wasn’t a matter of luck.”

“I expect tonight’s game will be quite the same as two weeks ago,” added Guardiola, who thinks his squad must be able to deal with the ice cold conditions in Russia. “We want to reach high goals this year. Then you can’t avoid playing on frozen grounds or muddy fields. When it’s cold, it’s cold…”

The succesful manager admitted that Barcelona is charmed by Cristian Daniel Ansaldi, Rubin Kazan’s Argentine left full back. “We have been following him for a while now. But for now, we are very satisfied with our full backs Eric Abidal and Maxwell.”

Paul Haring