Valverde: "We were the best in the league"
The coach said one of his contributions to the team has been to "not annoy them too much"
Ernesto Valverde said his side deserved a lot of credit for winning the league title and believes his side were superior to their rivals from the first game until clinching the title against Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
"When you’re chasing something for whole season, it’s more a feeling of ‘finally’ when you get there," the coach said after the 4-2 win at Riazor which sealed Barça's 25th title.
"At the end of the day, La Liga’s really long. You have to get through autumn, the tough winter… We have come through it all, though, and we’ve got there with room to spare. I think we have been the best."
Valverde had won the title in Greece before but never in Spain and he admitted the challenge now was to retain the title.
"That’s the most difficult thing. Everyone has moments when they win once. The hardest thing is to keep on winning and winning and winning," he said.
"To do that many times is difficult. Having to re-motivate yousrself and staying at the top if the toughest thing in any sport… Valero Rivera said it: The diffcult thing is not winning, it is winning again.
"I have won three leagues in Greece, but I have lost a lot. This is my first one I have won here in Spain. You don’t win a league every day. It’s been a great season."
Valverde did not want to take too much credit for the league win, insisting it was mostly down to the players.
"I've tried to work out the dynamic of team, not upset too many things, not to annoy the players too much. To try to keep the team together, that’s been the secret. I don’t know if I’ve added that much, the secret is in this dressing room. I’m not the first manager who’s won a league with these players.
"For me, yes, La Liga is the most difficult competition to win, because in the Copa, in the Champions League, a bad day can knock you out. the league is a constant over many months and you have to have resolve and determination."
