Pique: Barca still believe

Gerard Pique says Barcelona believe that they can turn things around against Bayern Munich and that they are keen to prove so to their fans.

The Catalans play host on Wednesday evening to the Bavarians in the Champions League semi-final second leg looking to come back from a 4-0 defeat suffered in last week’s first leg.

“The team is fine, and very confident that we will do all we can to stay alive for the whole match,” Pique told reporters at today’s pre-game conference.

“We need to not concede goals, score at least one and fight until the end. We represent a club that does not consider giving up, a club that has won a lot and has a long history. We represent FC Barcelona and we will want to give a good image.

“I remember when I was seven and we lost 4-0 against Milan [in the 1993-94 final] and I remember how my father was when we lost.

“Tomorrow we can be childlike in the sense that we can believe and we can dream, but it is going to be very hard.

“We have to open up the pitch, have the ball, and play fast football. In recent years we have proved we can beat anyone in any situation.

“We need the fans to back us and try to feel we are not knocked out of the Champions League yet.

“We have to try to find all the right circumstances to win the match. If everything goes in our favour, we can do it.”

The defender emphasised the team’s motivation and determination.

“We do not have anything to prove because we have done it time and time again. If tomorrow we have enough desire to win, it is because we want to prove we can do it and for the fans.

“We want to do it for them. The fans are grateful to this team and they deserve for us to play a good match tomorrow.

“I will watch tonight's game as a fan of football. The result does not concern us.

“We believe we will turn this around 100 per cent. We need to score a goal as soon as possible to get more and more confident.

“After a 4-0 result you do doubt yourself, but as days go on, you suddenly believe you can do this. Football is very psychological.

“Tomorrow we have 90 minutes to hit Bayern psychologically with the help of the fans. They could also score a goal and then to score six goals is a lot tougher. But we believe.”

Lionel Messi struggled to make an impact in the first leg in Germany.

“We know what [Lionel] Messi means. He is the best in the world and to have him in the team is the best news.

“We need everyone, especially Messi. I do not want us to commit mistakes because we have enough work as it is to play a good match and be better than the opponent.

“We won 4-0 [at home to Bayern] in 2009 but they are a different team, a lot better team, with a different coach and different players.

“It is very different. They are much better than that team.”

Tags Bayern Bayern Munich Pique
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