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
This is a moment for us to be relaxed and content. Before the game we were concentrated only on the job ahead. There were obviously some nerves in our play but this is what you would expect in a game like this when you get to this stage of the competition.
This is a game which is more than three points. If we win our lead will be 10 points and if we lose it'll be down to six.
Arsenal deserve to be in the final and will be a very dangerous opponent.
The moment will come and up until now the board have been thinking of other things. We have barely finished the holidays, we have had an assembly and also 'Ronnie's' contract. Apart from this the contract is only a piece of paper and I will work the same for Barcelona with or without it,
Deco was brilliant against Mallorca. He played like he did last season. He made some great challenges, worked really hard and made some very intelligent passes.
Ronnie and Samuel were very intelligent. One spotted the space and the other reacted very well to the pass. Between them they invented a goal.
Samuel showed he can rise above the circumstances, contributing to the team's victory.
Samuel is a human being and he felt bad on the field. I was pleased with the reaction of his teammates. They all went to support him and encourage him to stay. The referee also did really well.
This is bad news for the team especially for the midfield.
I would also like to say that the referee behaved very well.
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.
But we will only be celebrating when the moment finally comes. The players are delighted with this result because it was a key game but they know how to deal with the euphoria that has been growing throughout the season.
But there isn't a good or bad moment to celebrate the league title.
Milan is a very strong team which has been at the top for a long time.