Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes ecstatic to reach 400 appearances for the club – La Liga news
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes is delighted to reach the 400-appearance landmark for the Catalan giants.
The goalkeeper reached the milestone in his team’s 2-0 victory over Osasuna at Camp Nou on Saturday, April 23, 2011 and became only the second player in the club’s history to make 400 appearances or more. The only one to do before Valdes was Andoni Zubizarreta,
who went on to make 410 appearances in his eight-year stay at the club.
Talking to the reporters Valdes said, “It's an honour for me. I don't pay much attention to these things, but it's a pretty good figure and I would like to thank all those who have been there for me. Without them I wouldn't be enjoying this moment.”
Valdes revealed that Zubizarreta was his boyhood hero and he is now eager to surpass the record of the current director of football at Barcelona.
“It's an honour [to join Zubizarreta on 400 appearances]. Firstly because Zubizarreta has been an example for me since I got into the first team. As the seasons have gone by, he's been very influential in my game, my way of thinking. I've always said that
what he did was fantastic,” added the shot stopper.
The Spaniard heaped praise on Zubizarreta and believes that he is lucky to have the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 goalkeeper in a director role at the club and he is still learning from the legend.
Valdes made his debut in 2002 after emerging from the youth ranks of the club. The 29-year-old has gone on to become one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The shot stopper has been part of 13 major trophies winning team, including two UEFA Champions
League titles.
However, his potential has never been fully praised by many people in the world solely for the fact that he has never been a permanent member of the Spanish national team.
Real Madrid goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iker-Casillas-c16815 has been the number one goalkeeper for many years and Valdes has played as an understudy to the Los Blancos star throughout his national team career.
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