Interjú az UEFA.COM-ról Kluivertel.

Kluivert continues to shine

In eight years at the very top of European football, Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert can have endured few stranger campaigns than this one. His FC Barcelona side have been in stunning form in the UEFA Champions League with eight wins in eight games. However, back in the Primera División, it has been a different story.

Grim statistics
As they went into their game against RC Celta de Vigo, Barcelona were just five points clear of the relegation zone and fully 17 points off the top of the table. "We have to improve," Kluivert told uefa.com. "We have no other choice. Barcelona have to stand among the four top clubs in the league. I can't really give a solution but what is for sure is that Spanish teams know us better and that is a reason why we have not done so well in the Spanish league as in the Champions League."

European relief
It seems an unusual situation where competing among the best sides in the continent represents a relief from domestic competition, but that is where Barcelona find themselves. For Kluivert, a Champions League winner with AFC Ajax in 1995, his side have nothing to fear from any of their Group A opponents.

Serious rivals
"I hope that we can continue to play like we have played our other games in the group until now," he said. "Many important and big clubs are our rivals but we should not be looking at those big clubs - they should be looking at us."

Lethal combinations
Of course, if they look closely, what Barcelona's opponents will see is a side brimming with experience and invention, and in Kluivert a striker who is hard-working, versatile and equally lethal alongside any of his rotating cast of strike partners - Javier Saviola, Juan Riquelme and Marc Overmars.

Milanese prospects
With wins at Bayer 04 Leverkusen and at home against Newcastle United FC already under their belts, Barcelona will recommence their Champions League campaign with two games against Internazionale FC. For Kluivert, who had a disappointing spell with Inter's local rivals, AC Milan, the return to the San Siro will be a big occasion. "I am looking forward to those games," he said. "I would like to play in that stadium again."

Dutch duty
With qualification for UEFA EURO 2004™ in full swing, Kluivert is competing on more than one front at the moment, and with the Netherlands trying to erase the bitter memory of failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals - "revenge feelings," as Kluivert put it - there is fierce competition for a first-team place.

Striking options
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Roy Makaay, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Ruud van Nistelrooij are all vying for position, so the Dutch certainly do not lack strikers. "We have very good strikers who are playing well and scoring goals and that can only be good for the Dutch national team," said Kluivert.

New role
However, Kluivert has been happy to use his versatility to play a different role in the Dutch plans. "At the moment I am playing off the main striker, seeking the ball more often," said Kluivert. "I can play with every other striker - Van Nistelrooij, Makaay, Hasselbaink." In a topsy-turvy season, the form of Barcelona's easygoing Dutch master remains the least of their problems.