Valdés’ photos album

Sandra Sarmiento

The Barça keeper spoke to the REVISTA BARÇA magazine about his career and chose five important moments and five photos to illustrate them.

It’s been eight years since he made his debut and Victor Valdes has secured his place not just in this team, but also in the history of the club . For the REVISTA BARÇA he chose five great moments in his career so far.

“If it hadn’t been for Rijkaard, I wouldn’t be Barça’s keeper”

“I knew what I was going to do at the final whistle and I ran to the dugout and gave Frank a hug and said something like ‘you chose me and you were right, now we are Champions of Europe’. I’ll be grateful to Rijkaard all my life. That season I made two or three errors and received a lot of criticism, but he believed in me, when it might have been easier to drop me. That really helped me to grow and the game in Paris was perfect. I owe so much to Frank and he’s made a big impression on me as a person, who I have learnt a lot from”.

“With Guardiola, Barça will always win”
“Pep is like a teacher – it’s like going to university every day, you learn something every day. He always has a solution and with just a small change he can alter a game and you win. I’d never seen that before. Thanks to him I really enjoy the game. In his philosophy of the game the keeper is key in starting moves. He’s the best manager in the world and I have a lot of respect for him, because apart from his role as a manger, Pep is a symbol for the club. As a Barça fan, I want him to stay in charge for many years because I want to see us winning and with Guardiola, Barça will always win”.

“Andrés is like a brother to me. It was as if I’d scored the goal myself”

“I had a strange feeling during the game. Chelsea had their chances in the second half, but didn’t take them. I was convinced we would have our opportunity and it came right at the end! I went crazy, especially because Andres is my best mate - he’s like a brother- I’ve known him since we were kids and we grew up together and took the same path. We help each other and you can imagine how I felt when he scored in Stamford Bridge or in the World Cup Final. It was as if I’d scored myself. For me, and not just because everybody is praising him now, he’s the best player in the world and he deserves the World Player of the Year Award.”

“I didn’t want to be a keeper – I really suffered until I was about 18”

“I didn’t want to be a keeper. It really made me feel bad, don’t ask me why, but I really didn’t enjoy it and had a bad time. Then when I was nearly 18, I said to myself “I don’t want to do this anymore’. I was clear that I wasn’t going to be a professional keeper. Even though the people around me said I could reach the top. I went into therapy and that helped me get over it and see things differently. Since then I’ve lived my profession intensely and I’m enjoying it more all the time. Linking up with Pep has been a fundamental step in the right direction – now I live my life as a keeper with passion”.