Barcelona midfielder and Spanish international Sergio Busquets (21) spoke in a press conference prior to departing to Milan by bus. The team had to change their date of departure due to the volcanic ash in the atmosphere that was produced in a recent explosion in Iceland. They are now looking at a nine to ten hour trip and Busquets made clear that the team won’t use the long journey as an excuse come Tuesday.
“We’ll arrive to Milan in the best condition possible, we aren’t used to travelling by bus, but physically we feel good. At this point in the season there are no excuses; neither the bus trip nor the accumulation of games. As always, we’ll go to win the game. The decisive part of the season is here, we’re in the semi-finals of the Champions League and we’ll go for it all.”
The team will be stopping in France to rest overnight and will then continue the trip on Monday. “We’ll stop in Cannes and that will help us. It’s not going to affect us because our ambition and desire can overcome anything.”
When Busquets was young and played in the lower level leagues he’d travel by bus but “for no more than five hours.” He doesn’t see the bus as a completely negative thing. He tried to make the best of the situation by saying, “The long bus trip will help us bond as a group and have more fun with each other.”
When asked about Barcelona’s victory over Inter in the group phases Sergio said, “That was the group phase and now we’re near the end of the competition. As always in games such as these, the tie will be decided on small details but I think playing the return leg in the Camp Nou is an advantage.”
wise words