Real Madrid's Pepe: It is not impossible to beat Barcelona

Posted Tuesday, September 27, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Real Madrid defender Pepe believes his side is equipped to beat Barcelona this season.

The Spanish capital club is determined to take the Primera Division crown home after watching their Catalan rivals win the last three league titles.

The two clubs faced each other in the Supercopa in August, with Barcelona coming out on top 5-4 on aggregate after two hotly contested matches. Pepe feels Madrid was the better team in the two-legged tie and stressed his side can challenge Barca on all fronts.

"We have already demonstrated in the two Supercopa games that it is not impossible to beat Barcelona," Pepe told news daily Publico. "In the Supercopa, we were clearly better than them. Unfortunately, they were lucky and we did not win, but that happens in football. We deserved to win both games.

"Nowadays, we are the team with the best chance of putting up a good fight against Barcelona. We are going through a good moment and our squad have the quality to beat Barca or any other team."

The Brazil-born defender singled out Lionel Messi as Barcelona's main threat, but noted that the Camp Nou side's biggest asset is its team play.

"Messi is a player of an incredible quality, but I believe what weighs more is Barca's collective game, which is excellent," Pepe told the paper. "That is why Messi cannot prove his worth when he plays for Argentina. That goes to show that Barca's collective game is what makes the difference."

The former Porto man went on to note that all the criticism surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho is unfounded and driven by envy.

"I think it is because we are at the best club in the world," Pepe noted. "Cristiano, as a player, and Mourinho, as a coach, are the best.

"All that causes envy and frustration in many quarters."