FC Barcelona central defender and Spain international Gerard Piqué (25) knows there is still plenty to play for. Sure, Barcelona is seven points down to league leader Real Madrid CF, but the Catalans are far from down and out.

“There is still a lot of work ahead of us in the next two months, but we are still alive and you can count on us being there at the end of the season,” the defender said in a recent press conference.

Down but not out

Barcelona seeks to close the gap on Madrid by achieving a positive result in Pamplona against CA Osasuna Saturday. Guardiola’s men will also be wishing for a little assistance in the form of La Liga Cinderella Levante UD, who sit in fourth place and travel to the Santiago Bernabeú this weekend.

The defending European champion is skating on thin ice, despite being clear of third place by a comfortable 11 points, with away form being the obvious reason for the point discrepancy. Barcelona has won but four times in 10 games on the road. “I would have signed for where we are at the moment at the start of the season. We are very much alive in the league, in the Champions League and we are in the final of the cup,” Piqué said.

Real meanwhile, has won 18 out of 21 games this season, outscoring Barcelona by ten goals. The blaugrana are feverishly bogged down by injury, with Ibrahim Afellay (25), Andreu Fontàs (22) and David Villa (30) all out for indefinite periods of time. A thin squad is demanding Guardiola give more first team opportunities to the likes of Jonathan Dos Santos (21), Cristian Tello (20) and Sergi Roberto (20). Both teams however, have plenty of work to do before La Liga can be concluded.

“We will give everything in La Liga. It will be the others who will have to win it and it is going to be a long battle. We will put them under pressure, there are a lot of games including one at the Camp Nou,” Piqué said.

Guardiola’s signing

Guardiola, who has yet to renew for another season, tends to do what he wants in terms of his contract, not indicating much and letting his stunning achievements as a manager do the talking for him. It’s a situation that seems to keep everyone but his own players nervous. “I see Guardiola more eager than the first year. By that I mean everything,” Piqué said, who added that since the Santpedor native has been on the bench at Barça, “the team has not stopped growing.”

Three years and thirteen titles later, Guardiola has helped to rein in a golden era with the club. “Pep came the first year when the club was not at its best and since then many titles have come and there is a clear commitment to the cantera. Now the club is worth more than it was four years ago and a key player in this has been the coach,” Piqué said.

One cold, hard month

Despite a bitterly cold winter in Spain, Piqué expressed his satisfaction with the fact that his team was still alive in three competitions. “Each year we sign up for this. Three titles are three possibilities … alive in La Liga and the Champions League knockout round. I sign up for this every year. The last two months have been tough, but we are doing things very well,” Piqué said. “The month of January is always very complicated, with many matches and a brutal load to bear. Now we face the Champions League, but the schedule relaxes a bit,” he added.

“Where ever the cup, we’ll go to enjoy it.”

When asked about the possibility of playing the Copa del Rey final at the Bernabéu, Piqué seemed indifferent to the possibility of winning it on the home ground of his bitter rival. “If the final were to be played at the Bernabéu, it would be nice because it fits more people,” Piqué said. “But I have no other special interest in the matter. We’ll wait until Monday to see what the federation decides, because where it is played, we’ll go to have fun and take the cup home.”

Source: Sport.es

Image credit: Javier Soriano-AFP