Rijkaard Salutes Eto'o As Squad Reaches Full Fitness

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard's squad is reaching full fitness, with just a handful of players out injured.

While some - such as Thierry Henry - are important absences, the recovery of Samuel Eto'o arguably redresses the balance.

"[Eto'o has] class, unique talent, personality and character," the manager told the official Barcelona website.

"Eto'o is an important player for us because of the way he plays.

"It¡¯s always better to play with a full squad. It¡¯s a happy moment for the team and the players."

However, no sooner will the Cameroonian be back in the blaugrana lineup than he'll be away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations.

"We can try to prevent this, but we have to respect FIFA¡¯s rules," admitted the coach.

"I¡¯d prefer him to stay, but there¡¯s nothing we can do about it."

Barcelona face Deportivo La Coruna today as they look to extend their 100% Liga record at home, and with the visitors lying in the relegation spots, it seems a formality.

However, if Rijkaard's learned anything from the past 18 months, it's to avoid complacency.

"They have talent and they can grow," insisted the Dutchman.

"It¡¯s true that they are low down in the table, but they¡¯ve managed some good results away from home. They¡¯ve got talent and they¡¯re organised. Everybody in the league is competitive.

"If we went onto the pitch thinking it¡¯ll be a walkover, we¡¯d be making a big mistake."

Rijkaard went on to discuss Lionel Messi, whom he said might have shown a little more composure against Espanyol last week.

However, the boss pointed out that the crux of his comments were not negative in the least.

"What I meant to say was that he¡¯s still young and capable of growing," he pointed out.

"He can still become more important. This wasn¡¯t a criticism; this was praise."

Finally, the boss brushed aside Pedja Mijatovic's recent remarks about there being no room for Ronaldinho in the Real Madrid dressing room, stating that Ronnie was raring to go and was well worth signing.

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