Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said the European champions would
bounce back from their bruising Club World Cup defeat.
The overwhelming favourites dominated the early stages of
Sunday's final only to be floored 1-0 by a late sucker-punch from
Brazil's Internacional.
"By losing tonight this is going to generate something even
better," Rijkaard said.
"We have to really overcome this situation and by doing that we
are going to improve."
Barcelona were the last to arrive after a run of domestic and
European matches, and repeatedly complained of jet-lag and lack of
conditioning.
Rijkaard admitted the Spanish giants had prepared poorly for the
tournament and said they would learn from their defeat.
"As a coach I feel really sorry. All the players did a great job
but I would say Inter were better prepared tonight," he said.
It was the second time in two years that European favourites
have been shocked in the club final after Sao Paulo's 1-0 win over
Liverpool last year.
Rijkaard said he felt bitter about the defeat and hoped
Barcelona's fans would understand.
"This isn't a failure from the team, this is my failure,"
Rijkaard said.
"Of course we wanted to win but it was difficult to keep our
motivation high and it's difficult to keep pleasing our fans. Maybe
we can learn from this."
Star player Ronaldinho, nominated for a record third consecutive
World Player of the Year award late yesterday, said Barcelona would
analyse the defeat and learn from their mistakes.
Ronaldinho and Deco ran riot in the 4-0 semi-final against Club
America but were frequently crowded off the ball by
Internacional.
"Inter played very well defensively and now we have to win the
Champions League to come here again," Ronaldinho said.
"They scored with the only chance they had. We're going to
analyse the match and we'll try to learn from this."
Inter coach Abel Braga said the South Americans had done their
homework on Barca, studying matches against Chelsea, Werder Bremen
and Real Madrid.
They restricted Barca's potent attack with diligent marking and
scored on the break through substitute Adriano on 82 minutes.
"This is the best moment of my career," Braga said. "Only two
things could beat this: winning again next year, and becoming the
head coach of Brazil and winning the World Cup."
Inter became the sixth Brazilian intercontinental champions
including the former Europe-South America clash played since
1960.
(China Daily December 19, 2006)