No favourites for Rijkaard

FC Barcelona may go into Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final as many people's favourites, but coach Frank Rijkaard is taking nothing for granted.

No easy job
The 44-year-old Dutchman has already led his side to the Spanish title this season, but he is well aware that winning a league and European Champion Clubs' Cup double will be anything but a formality as his side take on Arsenal FC at the Stade de France in Paris. "I don't care what the outside world is saying about who are the favourites because I know in a final you don't have any favourites," he said. "It's a one-off game and you have a lot of things that can be of influence on the game - things like the tension, the nerves, the system, the tactics. You just have to go for it but I strongly deny that we can speak about a favourite."

Glittering career
After a glittering playing career with AFC Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan, Rijkaard is making a name for himself as a coach. His winning goal for Milan in the 1990 final gave Rijkaard the second of three European Cups as a player, and now he is looking to open his account from the bench. Fellow countryman Johan Cruyff - a European Cup winner as a coach and a player - believes Rijkaard is more than capable of doing that, saying of his Barcelona side: "I think he's created a very good team, a passionate team, a footballing team, an offensive team which means that I think he did a good job, a great job."

English mentality
However, even Rijkaard's all-star Barça will have their work cut out against Arsenal. He said: "Arsenal are one of those teams with a lot of skill and technique but they go for it and for me that's also the English mentality - let's not wait and see, lets go for it, lets kill them, lets take them." While a fourth-placed finish in the Premiership suggests an Arsenal team in transition, Rijkaard was unstinting in his praise for Arsène Wenger's youthful side, saying: "Normally if you are changing the team and a lot of youngsters come in you can see that they have a lot of talent but you have to wait a while until they get there, but I think they have progressed amazingly well. I have really enjoyed watching some of their games."

Mercurial Henry
Whether he will enjoy watching them quite as much in Paris may depend upon the form of the Gunners' mercurial captain Thierry Henry. Arguably one of the best strikers Europe has ever produced, an uncertain contractual situation at Highbury has led many to suggest that he might be arriving at Camp Nou this summer. Rijkaard was not about to indulge such speculation but he would not deny that the Frenchman was the kind of player that any coach would love to have. He said: "If you ask any coach of a professional team at this moment if he would like Thierry Henry, what would they say? 'Yes,' because he's a great player so why shouldn't I say that he's a great player?" A great player and a great competitor - a man after Rijkaard's own heart in every sense.