Cocu cheered by Davids signing

By Alex Eeles

Led by coach Frank Rijkaard, the FC Barcelona squad that will battle for honours during the remainder of the season in the Primera División and the UEFA Cup now features no fewer than five Dutch players.

Davids signing
And following the signing of Edgar Davids on loan from Juventus FC, Rijkaard could have an 'Oranje' spine to his team, with striker Patrick Kluivert, midfield player Phillip Cocu and defenders Michael Reiziger and Giovanni van Bronckhorst also at his disposal.

Extra help
Cocu, for one, said that the addition of his international team-mate, Davids, would only help the Camp Nou club, as they aim to put an indifferent run of form behind them and improve on their current seventh place in the league.

Good decision
"I know Edgar Davids well from playing with him for the Netherlands and he is an excellent player," Cocu told uefa.com. "He is technically very good and has an aggressive style of play. I think he will be a very good signing for the club."

Added dimension
Cocu hoped that Davids' aggression would give the team a necessary lift. "We have a lot of players at Barcelona who are very good footballers, but Edgar will bring a more physical and aggressive approach," said the 33-year-old. "This will be very useful for the team, especially because of the difficult position we have once again found ourselves in this season."

Rough season
Having had, by their high standards, a disappointing 2002/03 campaign, in which they finished sixth in the table, 22 points behind champions Real Madrid CF, Barcelona might have expected better with the arrival of Dutch coach Rijkaard in the close season.

Consistency counts
However, results have remained erratic. Hence the acquisition of the 30-year-old Davids. "We need to turn our season around quickly and bringing in Edgar is just the kind of boost we needed as we go into the second half of the season," said Cocu. "Hopefully a little bit of luck will also follow him to the club."

Larsson rumours
The process of revitalising the Barcelona squad was not completed with Davids's arrival, and Cocu has heard rumours about Swedish striker Henrik Larsson joining the club in the summer. "It's no secret that Barcelona are looking for another forward and, for me, Larsson would be an excellent signing," he said. "He is a very good player and he could do very well for Barcelona."

Dutch contingent
Cocu is also looking forward to UEFA EURO 2004™, and with so many of his Dutch colleagues at Barcelona, he can see good reason for optimism. "The fact so many of the Netherlands team are playing together for Barcelona can only help the Dutch team," he said. "When players are training and playing together every week you get to know each other very well and this will be useful when we play for the Netherlands."

Forward momentum
If the Dutch-powered Barcelona can build up some momentum in the Primera División in the coming months, Cocu and company could yet form the core of a winning team in Portugal.

Phillip Cocu's personal website is at www.icons.com