Gerard Piqué: 'We were always confident of beating Real Madrid'
Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué has told a Press conference in Yokohama that even though most critics had Real Madrid down as favourites to win last weekend’s El Clásico, he always had confidence Barca would come out on top.
Piqué is in Japan as part of the Barca squad to contest the World Club Cup and said: “We knew we were capable of winning in the Bernabéu. The feeling we had inside us was there on the pitch for all to see. Now we have to continue along that path. We knew the importance of winning there and that is why we went out and played as we did.”
However, the Spanish international sought to play down an incident at the end of the 3-1 victory when Real Madrid defender Marcelo refused to shake his hand: “It’s something that is best left on the field of play, something that happened in the heat of the moment, and that’s it,” he explained.
Asked about the World Club Cup, where Barcelona are due to meet Qatari club Al-Sadd in the semi-final on Thursday, Piqué stressed it is a special competition because Pep Guardiola’s men are taking a leap into the unknown. He said: “We are not used to the scheduled kick-off times, the other teams, and we need to get acclimatised. A lot of people say we are the best and that we play great football, but in a few years they will remember other things.
“We cannot afford not to take advantage of a moment such as this because great teams are remembered for the titles they have won.”
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