Rijkaard Defends Barcelona Tenure, Ronaldinho

Despite enjoying tremendous success in his first three seasons at Camp Nou, Rijkaard's tenure with Barcelona ended on a sour note after two barren seasons.

Nonetheless, Rijkaard stated that, although his success waned over time, he was always committed to his job.

"I endeavoured to make things work," he told the official club magazine.

"These five years have been very intense. You could compare it with when you get on one of those really fast trains: one day you look back and you’re amazed at the way time has flown."

Nonetheless, he denied that he was overwhelmed by the pressure of the job.

"In Holland some things are the same as at Barça," he explained. "I’ve understood the pressure of the surroundings since I was a youth player at Ajax. In Amsterdam we used the same expression. Surroundings? It means what happens outside the club and can affect the team. The surroundings here were no surprise to me."

Still, Barcelona and Spain are a special case for any manager, as he outlined.

"English football and our football are not at all similar," continued the former Oranje ace.

"Here we have elections and chairmen bring their own staffs, while at a club like Manchester United there is just one owner and it works like a company. It might change, but everything stays the same. And that doesn’t happen at Barça. Here every so often the organization, the structure, and even the philosophy changes, which is almost like going back to square one. Ferguson can spend years in charge of the team: that isn’t very likely here."

With that in mind, then, stabilising influences may come in the form of players.

"Coaches can say as much as they want, but without the team nothing works. I’d take Puyol," enthused Rijkaard. "He’s the captain and stands for the spirit of the team and generosity.

"And I’d also like to mention Ronaldinho. He’s been crucial in getting people excited again and making them happy. He’s been really important. Barça’s won and lost with him. But without Ronaldinho we wouldn’t have won more than before."


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