Zambrotta shrugs off sub role

Gianluca Zambrotta insists he is happy at Barcelona, despite the rotation system.

The Italian full back starred in the Azzurri's World Cup win this summer, and left Juventus with team-mate Lilian Thuram after their relegation to join the champions of Europe.

With Juliano Belletti providing the competition at right back the 29-year-old was substituted in the Liga game against Osasuna last weekend and remained on the bench for the entirety of the 5-0 UEFA Champions League win over Levski Sofia in midweek.

But Zambrotta says he has every faith in his new boss and the squad at his disposal.

"I knew Belletti was there on the right, just like Thuram knew [Carles] Puyol and [Rafael] Marquez play in his position," Zambrotta explained.

"We had no problem signing and I think it is good that there is time to get back to full strength, especially considering the number of games we have to play.

"I think it is positive for the team because there are several players for each position."

The Liga champions face Racing Santander at the weekend, but only found out it would be played on Sunday, after a dispute between the Cantabrians and the Spanish Football League (LFP) was concluded on Thursday.

While Zambrotta has been surprised by the lateness of the switch, he has taken it all in his stride.

"In Italy you know well in advance when you are playing," Zambrotta stated.

"This is the first time I have not known the date just two or three days before kick-off.

"It is a weird situation. But I do not think it makes it hard to prepare because today we just trained as normal with our thoughts on Sunday."