Barcelona only great on paper so far: Rijkaard

MADRID, July 29: Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has sought to play down expectations that the "Fantastic Four" of Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and new signing Thierry Henry will sweep all before them next season.
"On paper we have a great team but we have to prove it on the pitch. Everything starts with hard work and only after that does talent comes into play," Rijkaard said in an interview with sports daily Marca on Sunday."The important things are work, humility and sacrifice."
Barca just missed out on their third successive Primera Liga title last season. They have moved swiftly to reinforce for next season splashing around 65 million euros on Thierry Henry, Yaya Toure, Eric Abidal and Gabriel Milito. But the Dutchman said he would not be pushed into fielding Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Messi and Henry at the same time, as many Barca fans are hoping.
That said, press speculation has centred on how the club will manage the egos of the leading players if a likely policy of rotations leaves one or more of them on the bench.
Last season’s failure to win any major silverware was in part put down to dressing room rifts among big-name players, along with complacency and a general lack of commitment. Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas last week said the problems facing Barca were similar to those that led to the downfall of Real’s "Galactico" era under president Florentino Perez.
Meanwhile, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona beat Hearts 3-1 in a pre-season friendly at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, on Saturday. Barca had squeezed past Dundee United 1-0 at Tannadice on Thursday thanks to a last-gasp goal by Thierry Henry, but they were far more impressive on Saturday. Half-time substitute Giovanni Dos Santos scored the third one for Barca.