Milan fan
01-05-2002, 11:30 PM
03 January 2002 (Teamtalk) -- Former boss Johan Cruyff has claimed that Barcelona rely too heavily on Rivaldo and must sell him if they want to become a great force again.
Barcelona legends Cruyff and Hristo Stoitchkov both had harsh words to say about their former club when the two played in a tribute match for Jon Andoni Goikoetxea in Pamplona on Wednesday night.
Both still keep tabs on how Barca are faring, but neither like what they are seeing and Cruyff said: "What's happening on the pitch is a reflection of the problems higher up. Some little things aren't going right, on their own they wouldn't make much difference, but when they all come at once it can be very worrying."
Cruyff also hinted that if it were up to him, Rivaldo would leave the Nou Camp, saying: "I think that Barca do depend too much on Rivo and if that's the case then it would be better if they sold him.
"Whether he plays or not, his inclusion should always be an extra value to a solid base. Also, I can't understand why he has been granted a day's rest when he's been recovering from an injury for the past two weeks," he continued.
"There's always a problem with Rivaldo and he who earns more should be ready to sacrifice themselves more," the former Dutch star concluded.
Stoitchkov was less explicit in his criticism, but was still disappointed with the current state of the team, saying: "Barca lack character, especially during games that they are winning, but they don't know how to maintain the result. In my opinion, the problem is that there is no union in the dressing room."
The Romanian added that the troubles have nothing to do with the coaching team of Carles Rexach and Alexanko: "Those two are more than qualified to lead Barca, but the players are all young and need to learn from the advice they are given.
"A month ago the team was lauded as being the best in Europe with a nine-point advantage over Real Madrid in the table, now it's the other way around
Barcelona legends Cruyff and Hristo Stoitchkov both had harsh words to say about their former club when the two played in a tribute match for Jon Andoni Goikoetxea in Pamplona on Wednesday night.
Both still keep tabs on how Barca are faring, but neither like what they are seeing and Cruyff said: "What's happening on the pitch is a reflection of the problems higher up. Some little things aren't going right, on their own they wouldn't make much difference, but when they all come at once it can be very worrying."
Cruyff also hinted that if it were up to him, Rivaldo would leave the Nou Camp, saying: "I think that Barca do depend too much on Rivo and if that's the case then it would be better if they sold him.
"Whether he plays or not, his inclusion should always be an extra value to a solid base. Also, I can't understand why he has been granted a day's rest when he's been recovering from an injury for the past two weeks," he continued.
"There's always a problem with Rivaldo and he who earns more should be ready to sacrifice themselves more," the former Dutch star concluded.
Stoitchkov was less explicit in his criticism, but was still disappointed with the current state of the team, saying: "Barca lack character, especially during games that they are winning, but they don't know how to maintain the result. In my opinion, the problem is that there is no union in the dressing room."
The Romanian added that the troubles have nothing to do with the coaching team of Carles Rexach and Alexanko: "Those two are more than qualified to lead Barca, but the players are all young and need to learn from the advice they are given.
"A month ago the team was lauded as being the best in Europe with a nine-point advantage over Real Madrid in the table, now it's the other way around