Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch football manager and former player. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and represented his national side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he has been at the helm of the Netherlands national team, Sparta Rotterdam, Barcelona, Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national team. Regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in footballing history, and as one of the best players of his generation,...
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth30 September 1962
CityAmsterdam, Netherlands
We have something to show people -- that Barcelona are a good team and can eliminate Chelsea.
I work the same because the players, the club and the fans deserve it. My main concern is the team and I do not like to get involved in negotiating. I leave that to others.
He is the youngest player in the team and we have to look after him. He is a vital player for us, but we have a strong enough squad to cover his absence.
We are still making plenty of openings, and it is a case of continuing to work hard, maintaining the same spirit and just going for it. We have to accept this is happening at the moment, but the team is playing well.
Milan is a very strong team which has been at the top for a long time.
(Milan) is a team with a lot of experience, a great system of play and a very strong defense. It will be very interesting to see how we react against an opponent of this nature.
This is bad news for the team especially for the midfield.
This game is our big opportunity to consolidate ourselves as one of the top clubs. We're a young team that still has a lot of hunger for victories, but it's time to show it at the international level.
We did everything we could to win this game on a tricky pitch. We created a lot of opportunities but between the posts and Bonano, we failed to find the goal. We did well but we let a victory slip from our grasp. I still think we are carrying on where we left off last season and you saw a team that was working for 90 minutes. We showed off our talent but just couldn't get a goal.
I think we deserved to get through and I congratulate the players. We said before the game that nothing was decided and that we had to play a good team which is very dangerous. We did well and we didn't give away many chances.
I am very happy with the team because they have shown their talent.
It's a good first step on the way to qualification. But we can't rest on our laurels. Chelsea is too good a team for that.
It's a shame. I think the team looked good. We played very well but that's not enough if you don't win,
It will be a very interesting game against a strong side. They've played at a consistently high level for a long time now. I've already played against Milan as a player and as a coach, so it's just another game featuring two strong teams and that's it.