Piqué on Catalonia playing competitive football: 'Let's see what happens in the future'
The Barcelona star highlighted his delight and pride at representing Catalonia in international football after beating Venezuela 2-1
After helping Catalonia earn their first international victory since 2013, Gerard Piqué stated “let’s see what happens in the future” regarding the prospect of the Catalan national team competing in competitive football one day.
The FC Barcelona central defender told Catalan News in an interview after Monday night’s 2-1 win over Venezuela, “it’s not something that [he] can decide,” regarding the prospect of Catalonia competing for a place in future European Championships or World Cups.
The ex-Manchester United star, who faces his former team in this year’s Champions League quarter-finals next month, reiterated his pride in representing Catalonia in international football.
“It’s always great. We don’t have the chance to play much with the Catalan team, I think the last game was two years ago, and to have this experience is all so great and we’re happy to be here,” Piqué said after his side’s win in Montilivi stadium in Girona.
Bojan Krkic opened the scoring, finishing off a well-constructed team goal, before Espanyol youngster Javi Puado netted the decisive strike with just minutes to spare. “I think that we played a great game, we have great quality and it’s a great win for us,” the Barça star added.
The Catalan national team last played an international match in 2016, drawing 3-3 with Tunisia, but lost on penalties at the end of the 90 minutes. Some of the biggest results registered by the team in recent years include a 2-1 victory over Colombia, and a 4-2 win against Argentina, in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The game against Venezuela is the first match played by the Catalonia national team since the 2017 independence referendum.