News
SÁB 30.05.2015
FC Barcelona‘s coach, players and president all expressed their satisfaction after winning the Copa del Rey at their home stadium, and are now aiming to complete the treble by beating Juventus FC in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
Luis Enrique, boss of los azulgranas, declared that his side put in a "very complete" performance against an Athletic team who "played well". "With the game at 2-0, it didn’t make sense to take too many risks," he added. "We needed to be better than our opponents and we managed that."
Barcelona president Josep María Bartomeu also offered his reaction to the triumph. "We’re in very good shape, playing with freshness and enjoying our football," he admitted. The Camp Nou chief acknowledged that Athletic put in "a great game", and labelled Leo Messi’s goal as "one of the best in the history of football".
One of the scorers, Neymar Jr., explained that he was "very happy" with Barça’s Copa win. "We’re in good shape physically and we have to keep this up until the end," he said. "For me, it’s an honour to be part of this team." He also had words of praise for Messi, describing the Argentinian as "spectacular".
Xavi Hernández, for whom the match was a final farewell to the Camp Nou, also spoke of his happiness at securing the trophy, assessing the final as a "great show". "Athletic responded well, but we’re on a winning run. We’ve come into the final period of the season in really good shape, fresh and at it," he added.
Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde insisted that the men from Bilbao were "aware" that Barcelona could go ahead, but that their aim was to ensure the match "remained alive" so as to be in with a shout of victory. He also noted that two-goal hero Messi always makes his mark "in the decisive moments".
The Basque outfit’s captain, Andoni Iraola, admitted that they were hurting from the defeat "because of the fans". "We competed, but we needed to take our chances and for their best players to have a quiet night," he said. "That wasn’t the case; Messi made the difference."
© LALIGA - 2015