Gerard Pique says Barcelona must “maximise” the talent in their squad and continue to dominate European football after their Champions League victory over Juventus.
Barcelona regained the Champions League trophy for the first time since 2011 with a 3-1 victory over the Italian double winners in Berlin, winning a historic second treble in the process.
Both Luis Suarez and Neymar were on target with Lionel Messi involved in every goal as the club’s much-vaunted attack proved decisive on a night when Alvaro Morata’s equaliser left Barcelona rocking for a 15-minute period.
The debate has begun as to whether this is the best Barcelona side of all time, and whether the MSN is the greatest attack football has seen, but as he addressed the press gathered in the mixed zone, the outstanding Pique was already thinking about building on this triumph.
Asked whether Barca were lucky to an extent, with Juventus having numerous chances to claim a second after Morata’s goal Pique replied: “Yeah, but in the end, we turned it around. We were talking in the dressing room that this is one of the best dressing rooms [team spirit] we’ve had in the history of this club, and that they have the most talent as well.
“We have to maximise this and win as many trophies as possible, to leave this club at the highest possible level. We have to maximise it.
“It’s a lot of trophies, a lot of time worked,” he added of his career at Barca, which has seem him win three Champions Leagues. “A lot of pressure, too, that we suffered. In years, well, we’ll see everything we have achieved.
“When I retire, I’ll see it differently. Now, I want to enjoy it, I still have so much I want to achieve in my career with a generation that I think is unique, with brutal talent. We have to maximise that and win more.”
Pique produced a fantastic performance against Juventus as Barcelona delivered on his pre-match promise that they were “90 minutes from perfection”, collecting a magnificent treble.
The season has not been a procession though. Back in January, Barcelona were plunged into crisis when director of football Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked and assistant Carles Puyol quit, and the team suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad.
Luis Enrique managed to lead Barca through the tumult though and Pique said Saturday’s treble triumph felt even more satisfying as a result.
“You can’t get better than winning like that; after January, when it looked like everything was falling apart ; after five brutal months, beating some of the best teams in the world: the champions of England, the champions of Italy, Germany.
“The team suffered a lot. That was demonstrated when it went to 1-1, we had 10-15 minutes when we were f****d! They attacked us a lot and, like I say, at the defensive level, we had to suffer, but up front with the talent these players have, they knew to take the chances so we could win the trophy.”