Vilanova aonya

Vilanova: It's about the team, not
Messi
The Blaugrana coach has urged
supporters to get behind the team
as they look to secure a memorable
comeback from their 4-0 first-leg
deficit against the Bavarians
By antipastos
Apr 30, 2013 5:00:00 PM
Barcelona boss Tito
Vilanova has insisted
that his side will not
be relying on Lionel
Messi in their
Champions League
semi-final tie with
Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
The Blaugrana must overturn a 4-0
deficit from the first leg at the Allianz
Arena and Vilanova that the clash will
not in the four-time Ballon d'Or
winner's hands alone, while hailing
Gerard Pique's affect this campaign.
"When I said that without Pique we
would not be the same team, I mean
it. His season has been excellent. The
fact that we have conceded goals has
to do with the fact some players have
been injured," the 44-year-old told
reporters at a press conference on
Tuesday.
"We know how important Messi is in
our team especially when it comes to
scoring goals. The better he plays,
the better for the team. But we
cannot put all the pressure on his
shoulders, the rest of the team also
has to help him. Obviously Messi will
have a lot to say in tomorrow's
match."
Vilanova acknowledged that reaching
the European final would be difficult
but has faith that the catalunya club
can restore some pride following last
week's mauling in Munich.
"I expect that we will be ourselves -
that we will try to be better than
Bayern," he added. "We know we have
to score, I know we can do that.
"We should be ourselves - that is the
important thing. Scoring goals but
also playing good football. It is very
obvious we cannot concede, it will
make it that much harder, but we
have to get goals as well.
"The players are aware of the
difficulty of the match. We are
Barcelona and we cannot take this tie
for being lost already. If we do not
make it, we have to hold our heads
high, fight until the end and have our
fans feel proud about us.
"We know we need the fans. It is not
the same to have a quiet stadium
compared to a stadium full of people
cheering. Bayern had everyone
cheering for them and that helped
them without a doubt. But we cannot
always ask the fans for help, we also
have to give them something back in
return."
Vilanova also revealed that the tie
comes too soon for Javier Mascherano
to make his return from injury, and
explained that a decision over Sergio
Busquets' fitness will be made after
training on Wednesday.
"Mascherano will not be able to play
tomorrow. He needs six weeks to
recover and only four have gone by, so
he will not be in the team," he
added.
"Sergio Busquets and some others are
still suffering from minor injuries. We
will s