Referring to his stars Ronaldinho, Leo Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o, Rijkaard said: "Whether they play together depends on the system of the opponent, their fitness, injuries, training ... they can play together, but there are many factors that can dictate things."

On new signing Yaya Toure, Rijkaard added: "He is a player who has trained very well and he can help us in that position (midfield). He has played all the games as a starter because neither Rafael Marquez nor Edmilson were available. But this does not mean that he has not had a very important preseason."

He went on: "I hope that the management of a group of 22 players who can be starters works well. The truth is that it is not a special challenge for me. It is what we want, to have a great squad and I believe that the work will be quite easy for me.

"I like to work with intelligent players, who understand that they cannot win anything alone in a team sport because you need your teammates. In this sense, all the players are important, from number 1 to number 25 or 26."