Piqué: "Tito has to help us overcome Milan"

Gerard Piqué answered questions from the international press on the eve of Barcelona's Champions League tie with AC Milan. The player, who accompanied interim coach Jordi Roura in Monday's press conference, came out in defence of Barça whose recent form has come under the microscope.

Pre-match feelings: "I know what we have to do. I honestly believe that we have the team and the talent to turn the tie around. AC Milan are one of the greatest sides in history - they have won the Champions League and the domestic league many, many times but at Camp Nou tomorrow, we will have one of the best Barcelona sides in club history. I think we can do it.

Before Barça's meeting with Inter in 2010, you said that you hoped that for 90 minutes, your opponents would hate their profession: "We just want our fans to get behind us and immerse themselves in the game. In a way, Barça fans can be quite selfish - and they are always right behind us when they can see that we are really up for it out on the pitch. We need our people to believe that we can do this. The other day I thought to myself, 'It took us 90 years to win a league and a Cup..., and not much else. Cruyff changed our mentality. During the past 15 or 20 years, this club has re-written the history books. Only 11 or 12 years ago, everyone went crazy when a Rivaldo goal put us through. The current side has won a lot of trophies and it deserves some credit for that. It has achieved a lot and is capable of doing even more".

Reports in a Chinese newspaper quote you as saying Barça will win 3-0 for Tito? "I would like to clarify what I actually said. I didn't say that we will 3-0 for Tito, I didn't say that. What I said was that Tito has to help us to win this game. We don't have to win this for Tito and I have never predicted a score - I'm not a fortune teller. We will try our best to turn the tie around in our favour, which what we all want".

Finishing: "We have scored more than 80 goals in the league - that's 20 goals more than the second highest scorers. If they is one thing this team doesn't lack, it's scoring goals. We know how Milan are going to go into this game. With a result that they have from the first leg, they have to close up at the back and try to keep a clean sheet. But if we play like we usually do, we will definitely have chances. The smallest details will decide what happens on the night".

Are you upset by what some people have been saying about the team? "No, not at all. We are top of the league table, 13 points ahead of the side in second place. Real Madrid knocked us out of the Cup but that's Real Madrid. Out situation in the Champions League is difficult, we know that. You can easily have one poor game, or two poor games. We know that we can turn the tie around and we will try to do that for ourselves and for our fans but not for you, the media".

"We have to turn around a two-goal deficit. We will try to score as many goals as we can. Conceding a goal would be fatal. Luck will come into it as well. We have to have belief - when you believe, you create your own luck".

Playing with three centre-backs: "There are advantages and disadvantages to playing with three at the back. The decision will be made by Tito and Jordi. We are used to playing our own system. With a 3-4-3 formation, we are more attacking but suffer in defence. With 4-3-3, we control our games more but we miss having someone extra just behind the strikers. We'll see. We know what we are up against - they will hit us on the counter. It will be similar to what we experienced against Inter".

Playing intelligently: "We have always played by using our head. That's how we won the trophies we have won. But sometimes you need to play with your heart too. Let's hope we can be leading 2-0 by the end of the first half - but a Milan goal would complicate matters for us. That's why we need to be alert in defence and we cannot afford to ship a goal. I think we have the capacity to score four - that is difficult against a side like Milan but we will be battling right from kick-off until the final whistle".