New Delhi: Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man has followed the rest of the squad in declaring that the Blaugrana are not afraid of a new-look Real Madrid.
Barcelona have been forced to sit back idly and watch eternal enemies, Real Madrid launch one audacious assault after another in the transfer market in an attempt to revolutionise their squad.
The signing of Kaka and the impending arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu is sure to leave Spanish football fans salivating at the mouth thanks to the prospect of a firecracker showdown with Barca’s own superstars, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.
But so far, the Blaugrana squad have been nonchalant about Madrid’s efforts to reinforce their team and Barca’s assistant coach, Tito Vilanova is no different.
"Real Madrid do not scare us. Nobody frightens us in football," he was quoted as saying by Sport.
"They are strengthening their squad and Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are both great players. But it is something that they had to do because they lost ground on us last season. Besides, we have Iniesta, the best midfielder in the world and Messi, the best forward. In my opinion, they are better than Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo," he boomed proudly.
Vilanova then went on to touch on the much-talked about Samuel Eto’o contract renewal saga.
"We are very happy with him and we will do everything we can so that he stays," he assured. But sometimes, things like these are not easy because footballers have their own representatives. Still, I believe he will remain," he said.
Like Madrid, the Catalan heavyweights have also been linked to by and large the same players in the summer transfer market, including Franck Ribery, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa. And the assistant coach made it no secret who he would like to see most at the Camp Nou.
"Ribery is a good player and we would be delighted to have him play for us," he enthused. "But surely, Bayern Munich will not allow him to leave," he said.
Both Villa and Ribery had previously stated that they would prefer Barca over Madrid but in recent weeks, it appears that the Spanish capital has suddenly become the duo’s preferred destination.
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