The Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola was relaxed before the last group stage fixture against the Russian Champions Rubin Kazan. The Catalan Giants had already topped the points table, as they did not lose a single game throughout the tournament. However,
they did manage to draw a few games.
As the last game was not very important for the Spanish Champions their coach decided to play an experimental squad including young stars from the Barcelona B team. With the first team goalkeeper Victor Valdes resting for the Spaniards, Jose Manuel Pinto
featured between the two poles as he guarded the Catalan goal. After the game, Pinto was asked about his opinion and about his experience while playing in the UEFA Champions League.
The Spanish youngster said that he does not really mind who Barcelona are going to play against in the next round however, he added that whatever team they are going to face, it is not going to be easy for them. Pinto added that all the teams that are left
in the European competition are very strong and even though Barcelona are going to face a team that holds the number 2 spot in its group, he still thinks that the match is going to be very hard.
The draws for the next round are going to take place on Friday 17 December and Barcelona are going to be seeded as they have topped their group with 14 points – the highest while being under Josep Guardiola.
Pinto even said that he was pleased with the way the competition has gone so far. He spoke about how Barcelona had some tough teams to face while competing for the European title and added to his comments by saying that all the teams in their group were
hard and they got good results.
He was asked about his opinion about the game against the Russian Champions at the Nou Camp. The young Spanish goalkeeper said that the main thing that clicked him was the fact that many young players featured in the first team and even though they are too
young to play in such big games, they still perform freely and play as “unreserved” players.
Pinto also spoke about Barcelona getting the last three nominations of the Ballon d’Or award. He said that he was proud of all the three candidates, Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta however, he said that no matter who wins the award; it is
going to be for the team because all three of them perform well together.
Jose Manuel Pinto also told the press that he felt hurt after the “Osasuna” clash. Barcelona were criticised about not travelling for their game because the aeroplanes were not flying on that day. He said that many people are criticising the team because
they think that we didn’t want to play. He said that they were told about the postponement of the game until Sunday.
The last thing he spoke about was his future in Barcelona as his contract was to finish next year in March. The young goalkeeper said that he is enjoying his stay in Barcelona and he is not concerned about the new contract because he plans on staying in
the Spanish side in the future.
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