16 March 2007, by Sean Gillen

Beto aiming to upset Barcelona

Defender confident of blunting “world’s best attack”

Recreativo defender Beto insists that his side have a great chance of causing an upset when they host Spanish champions Barcelona at the Nuevo Colombino this weekend.

A superb first season back in the top flight sees Recre sitting in 7th place in La Liga after 26 games, and Beto hopes that the Andalucians can give their fans something to cheer against the champions on Saturday.

“They are one of the most powerful clubs in Europe, of that there is no doubt,” said the former Portuguese international, who has become one of El Decano’s key players since his summer move from Bordeaux.

“It’s a great team but we are going to try to win because we are playing in front of our supporters. In football everything is possible. We also have a quality team. If we play with humility and character we believe we can beat them.”

“Football is unpredictable and we are working hard all week to try to surprise Barcelona. It’s very difficult to beat them because they have great players who can produce at any moment.”

“All teams have good and bad points. They could have a bad day on Saturday and we can take advantage of that to beat them.”

With regard to the star studded Barcelona side, Beto is reluctant to single out any particular threat, but acknowledges that he and his defenders will face a tough challenge.

Best attack in the world

“The whole opposition worries me because one player alone does not tend to win matches, but for me they undoubtedly have the best attack in the world.”

Although new to Spanish football, Beto does have experience to draw on when it comes to playing Barcelona, having come up against them in his days with Lisbon side Sporting.

“I have played against them a couple of times. In European competition, I remember that at home we drew against them once and in the return game they beat us 2-1 or 3-1. I also played in Barcelona in a pre-season defeat.”

Recre’s season is already a guaranteed success, but a win over Los Cules on Saturday evening could see them move up as high as fifth place in Spain’s top flight and put them in contention to secure a shock European place.