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Barcelona Need To Be More Ruthless At The Back - Johan Cruyff
Barcelona's win against Atletico may have been celebrated by the fans but Cruyff thinks the Blaugrana must tighten things up at the back...
21-Sep-2009 8:25:08 PM
Johan Cruyff believes that Barcelona's defenders must learn to be cynical in their approach and be prepared to clear their lines however they can.
The Dutch legend may have enjoyed the Blaugrana's forward play in the 5-2 win but in his column in El Periodico, he picked out the back line for special attention.
Rather than being prepared to kick the ball long, Cruyff was unhappy that several Barca defenders continuously tried to play their way out of trouble when they did not have time to.
"Barca committed a lot of mistakes against Atletico," he explained.
"Not clearing the ball without contemplating let the Rojiblanco strikers shoot at Valdes four times.
"If those kinds of errors are not sorted out then the champions will have problems.
"[Franz] Beckenbauer was great, but even he knew that from time-to-time you had to hit the ball out into the stands."
Lucas Brown, Goal.com
The Dutch legend may have enjoyed the Blaugrana's forward play in the 5-2 win but in his column in El Periodico, he picked out the back line for special attention.
Rather than being prepared to kick the ball long, Cruyff was unhappy that several Barca defenders continuously tried to play their way out of trouble when they did not have time to.
"Barca committed a lot of mistakes against Atletico," he explained.
"Not clearing the ball without contemplating let the Rojiblanco strikers shoot at Valdes four times.
"If those kinds of errors are not sorted out then the champions will have problems.
"[Franz] Beckenbauer was great, but even he knew that from time-to-time you had to hit the ball out into the stands."
Lucas Brown, Goal.com
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