Forget title Frank, can you beat Dundee Utd?

THE debate about the biggest club in the world doesn't survive a visit to Barcelona, where even in the heat little else shrivels. Certainly not FC Barcelona, or their home. The incomparable Camp Nou sits bleaching in the sun and in the shadow of the 98,000 capacity structure work players whose next appointments after this weekend's final La Liga fixture will be at Tannadice Park and Murrayfield Stadium, where they may run out to our applause as Spanish champions.

By Sunday night we will learn whether Barcelona's hopes of retaining the title have gone up in the puffs of smoke Frank Rijkaard peers through when contemplating what must, to the uninitiated, appear some frankly baffling questions. We are present in one of the finest sporting arenas on earth, with the hosts just four days away from a season-defining clash against Gimnastic Tarragona. Even a win there might not be enough. Real Madrid, ahead on head-to-head goal average, are also favoured by a home match with Real Mallorca. Sevilla, Hampden's UEFA Cup champions, are by no means out of the equation, and wait two points behind for any slip-ups.

Yet here in the Barca trophy room - one of them at least - Rijkaard is about to engage with questions likely to have been on the lips of no-one in the regular daily press conference downstairs. So Frank, do you think you can succeed where others have failed and become the first manager of Barcelona to defeat Dundee United? And do you like golf?

The city is on a knife edge, although Rijkaard seems as casual - both in attitude and attire - as the tourists who file through the corridors on endless stadium tours. He has paused to retrieve a Kent cigarette from its packet. Once lit, he ponders. Back in 1987, when Dundee United were busy reprising their feat of the mid-Sixties by beating Barcelona both at home and away, he was one corner of that sublime Dutch triangle made up by Van Basten and Gullit. He perfected the role of the holding midfielder, made the No 8 shirt his own at Ajax and AC Milan. He won three European Cups, one with the former and two with the latter. Fittingly, a European Cup final was one of his first footballing memories, when Feyenoord beat Celtic in 1970. As with many others, a ginger-haired winger stuck in his mind.

Rijkaard was always a fiery player, even if it's hard, in these amenable circumstances, to imagine him summoning up the knot of phlegm that gave Rudi Voller a reason to wash his silver curls after a testy 1990 World Cup battle between West Germany and Holland. He admires talent mixed with desire, qualities which can be summed up in one ball of magic - Jimmy Johnstone.

"When I think about Scottish football I think about the wonderful Scottish national team, and the wonderful Scottish public." he said. "And I go back to when I was a little kid, and players like Jimmy Johnstone. I remember when Scotland played in the 70s against the Dutch national team in the World Cup. I think it is a country which has the sympathy of many football fans.

"Scotland had the right attitude, but they also had some very skilful players," he continued. "When Scotland had a really great team, they always transmitted a great team-spirit - they had an honour and a love to play for their country and do something together. In football you always have times when a team peaks, and then has to struggle again. But Scotland players always seem willing to do everything to represent their country. It is very contagious."

Rijkaard certainly caught the bug, turning out 73 times for Holland. One of those occasions included a 1-0 victory over Scotland in Gothenburg at Euro 92 - "it wasn't a high standard match, but the atmosphere was special". As a manager he has also known success. Often it has seemed to come easily. He walked into the Holland job after three years on the fringes. When he was surprisingly appointed manager at Barcelona in 2003 the last entry on his CV was worse than unremarkable. He had taken Sparta Rotterdam down for the first time in their history. In Barcelona, the sales of white hankies surged.

Rijkaard experienced this well-known display of discontent on more than one occasion, but survived a shaky start to lead Barcelona to two successive La Liga titles. A third may prove a step too far, but amid the press frenzy that has been whipped up to even more absurd levels by the transfer speculation regarding Thierry Henry, Rijkaard agreed to do what managers rarely do, and contemplate something other than the next game. Perhaps he relishes the opportunity to discuss topics other than Gudjohnsen's fitness or Eto'o's mental well-being. Perhaps there is only so much one can say about the geniuses with the ball we have earlier watched train.

Rijkaard has certainly made himself look comfortable. He has slid back into a soft, brown chair while studying the thick plume of smoke which has gathered above his head. You won't be able to do that in Scotland, Frank. The thoughtful demeanour might, however, go down well in St Andrews, the university-town where the Barcelona squad will be based for a week later this summer. On Thursday 26 July the team hop over the Tay bridge to play United, their old foes. And then two days later Murrayfield will host some of the finest stars in football's pantheon as Barcelona take on Hearts, with over 20,000 tickets already sold.

Ronaldinho in a rugby stadium is still box office, and he is contracted to play 25 minutes at least. Ronaldinho anywhere is an attractive proposition, including training. Hundreds press their noses against the wire meshing to see the Brazilian perform. He issues thumbs-up signs from time to time at well-wishers who cry "Roni, Roni, this way, pleeeease!" Rijkaard observes all this in his shorts, and still looks like he can play. Now 44, the Dutchman of West Indian descent - his father was from Surinam - is supremely well preserved, and has clearly benefitted from a love for the game which saw him turn out for Abcoude's third team, his local club in Holland, in his late thirties. But he likes a beer, and a fag. And it helps keep him sane in this crazy environment, where his job hangs forever on the line.

"Generally, I don't see this as being any different to any other coach's job," he said, a little disingenuously. "One club might draw a little more attention than the other. But I think it always has to do with your relationship with the players. You are working together to reach something, and I don't see the difference if you have 100,000 or only 20 people watching. The input is the same. You want to achieve something with your friends. That doesn't generate pressure. It might generate attention, but that's a different thing. I believe in motivation, and it comes from the inside. Pressure is different. It comes from outside."

He is Barcelona's sixth manager of the millennium, although undoubtedly the most successful. There are the inevitable whispers regarding his future, but he says he is "relaxed" and his demeanour suggests nothing else: "I don't feel any pressure right now, we just have to play the last game and give it our best. It would be wonderful to come to Scotland as champions, but let's wait and see."

By the Edinburgh leg of this twin tartan-challenge Rijkaard may have put one over predecessors Terry Venables and Rique Olsen by claiming the scalp of Dundee United. Not that the nonchalant Rijkaard is overly concerned. "It's a game, that is all," he said. "It's about getting back into the rhythm again, and for that you need games. To be honest, I am not really thinking about winning or losing. It is the first week in which we will be back together again," he continued.

"Not every player will be available because they have tournaments with their countries. But a big part of the group will be available. The main purpose of the trip to St Andrews is to prepare ourselves for next season, and to do it in a good atmosphere. The games are very attractive for the players because during training sessions it's nice to have something to look forward to. But I am not thinking about results and how we perform.

"I always have respect for our opponents. Dundee United and Hearts are two proud Scottish teams. We will give all that we have, and leave a good impression. We will play with the honour of defending the colours of this club."

FRANK RIJKAARD ON...

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

"When I think about Scottish football I think about the wonderful Scottish national team, and the wonderful Scottish public And I go back to when I was a little kid, and players like Jimmy Johnstone. I think it is a country which has the sympathy of many football fans."

• HOLLAND BEATING SCOTLAND 1-0 AT EURO 92

"It wasn't a high standard match, but the atmosphere was special."

• THE DEMANDS OF THE BARCA JOB

"Generally, I don't see this as being any different to any other coach's job. You are working together to reach something, and I don't see the difference if you have 100,000 or only 20 people watching."

• THE CLIMAX TO LA LIGA

"I don't feel any pressure right now, we just have to play the last game and give it our best. It would be wonderful to come to Scotland as champions, but let's wait and see."

• TRYING TO BEAT DUNDEE UNITED

"It's a game, that is all. It's about getting back into the rhythm again, and for that you need games. To be honest, I am not really thinking about winning or losing."

• BARCA'S SCOTTISH TOUR

"The main purpose of the trip to St Andrews is to prepare ourselves for next season, and to do it in a good atmosphere. I always have respect for our opponents. Dundee United and Hearts are two proud teams."