Decisive days for Barça. Decisive days, and January has not yet ended, also for Xavi. Decisive days in the League, with the visit this Sunday to Benito Villamarín, the home of Betis, where they have not lost a single game this season. And they will be even more decisive in the Copa del Rey with the trip to Bilbao on Wednesday to face Valverde’s exultant Athletic, who have moved into the ‘Champions zone’ positions.
“What comes will mark everything. We have a lot at stake. Betis is very strong at home and Athletic is one of the teams that is in the most shape,” admitted the Barça coach, recalling that in the Cup the last two visits to San Mamés were eliminations.
“Of course there is a lack of positivity. Sure, sure. It’s what’s missing the most, but here I am to counteract it. Don’t worry. The other day we had 13 players from the quarry and I haven’t seen any news about that. Not a single “We are playing with kids of 16, 17, 18 years old… That’s why I say we are building and they have also killed me for that,” he said, praising Pau Cubarsí, a 16-year-old center back, whom he made his debut. “He is prepared, he came out with a certain pressure, with a 1-1 score, and he played with great responsibility and personality,” said the Barça coach.
A cultural suspicion
“The environment is not positive, it is not, it is not… I am. Inside there is no problem. Failure would be not trying, we will try,” said Xavi looking at the landscape his team faces in this next week from an optimistic point of view. “Last year Madrid came and we were 9 points away and they said then that we could lose the League,” the coach recalled.
“I don’t know if it’s the Catalans, the club, the history too… We’re from alas, alas. We’re saying that Betis is coming, that they’re coming. Well, Betis and Athletic are coming. Well, let’s compete “Xavi shouted with energy. “I see an opportunity, I suppose that having been a footballer and having won many things also gives me more peace of mind. But I have also lost many things. And Barça has not always won.”
“Of course there is a lack of positivity. Sure, sure. It is what is missing the most, but here I am to counteract it. The other day we had 13 players from the quarry and I have not seen any news about that. We are playing with 16-year-olds, 17, 18 years… That’s why I say that we are building and they have also killed me for that.”
Barça coach
Barça travels to Seville, a city where neither Atlético (0-0), nor Madrid (1-1), nor Girona (1-1) have been able to win this season. “It’s a difficult start, they haven’t lost at home. But we start the second round with all the enthusiasm, there is an important advantage for Madrid and Girona, although we think it can be overcome. It depends on us. It is a good scenario to see in Seville to a good Barça and win, but from a good game,” the coach declared.
“The defensive line is very good, the pressure is high too. In strategy we are excellent, we don’t concede and we score an important goal from a corner or a foul. But I mean that when I say that I despair at the last pass,” the Barça coach stressed.
“I see the pass, but what I see in my head doesn’t happen. It’s a matter of time, of talent, of correcting it, of working on it. At that moment I see that it should happen and it doesn’t happen, that’s why I said that I I despair. They are young and they should keep trying”; the technician said.
“I see the pass, but what I see doesn’t happen later. It’s a matter of time, of talent, of correcting it, of working on it. At that moment I see that it should happen and it doesn’t happen, that’s why I said I despair.”
Barça coach
“What is coming will mark everything. If we win tomorrow and qualify in San Mamés, it will mark everything positively. We didn’t want Athletic and even less in their field, but we have to go step by step, we want to rejoin the League that has become complicated,” said Xavi, who has conveyed a message to his players.
No Cancellation in Seville
“The message hasn’t changed since the first day. Let them try and play well. We have to get Betis’ day at home. This level to get the results,” the Barça coach specified. “Everything is at stake. We have a lot at stake. “But the message is one of calm and tranquility,” he added.
“We are going for the three titles we have left. We are motivated and excited, we must improve in the game. Everything is at stake, except the Super Cup,” Xavi recalled, indicating the desire to “compete until the end” announcing that there will be rotations in the starting eleven.
“There is fatigue, it is logical. We will need all the players available in the squad,” commented the coach, who specified that it will be “difficult for Cancelo to be in Seville, but” we will try for the Copa2. The Portuguese had pain in his knee, which is why he did not play a single minute in the Super Cup.
“The logical thing is that he is not for Seville, but he is for San Mamés,” Xavi acknowledged, assuming the difficulty of closing the gap in the League. “These seven or eight points with Madrid and Girona can be overcome. We believe it can be done, there is a whole second round left, we will start it tomorrow and with the utmost enthusiasm,” he said.
Regarding the inclusion of Vitor Roque in the team, Xavi wanted to specify that “it was not an injury but it was a small annoyance and the other day in the 10 minutes he had he did well.” He did not advance whether he would start him in Seville. “He is a footballer who can give us things,” said the coach, who “the identity of those three players plus Gavi has marked us in the lack of continuity” in reference to the few games in which De Jong, Gündogan and Pedri. “Many times due to misfortunes we have had it.”
Praise to Ferran Torres
In that sense, Xavi “wants to think that he will be able to fight for the League” despite the fact that Madrid and Girona are very far apart. “We want to continue winning games to get into the race for the League,” said the Barça coach, insisting on the same diagnosis.
We have conceded too much defensively. We have given away a lot. Our mistakes combined with lack of effectiveness. We are not doing as well as last year we did dominate very well. The areas are what are not defining the season,” said Xavi.
“Concentration, intensity, aggressiveness should already be the basis. But the opposite happens to you, so we must minimize those mistakes. “We have to improve because that is something non-negotiable,” said the Barça coach, who praised the performance of Ferran Torres, who is celebrating his 100th game in Seville.
“Here, day after day, they make you feel small and worthless, whether as a player, coach, doctor or press officer, and that is Barça. It’s a shame, but that’s how it is. Ferran has had to be very strong mentally. I “He wrote a very important message in the summer and I thought: ‘this boy will turn the tables’. And he embodies what a Barça footballer should be.”
Barça coach
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“Ferran embodies what a mentally strong footballer is. Every day they make you feel small and worthless, whether as a player, coach, doctor or press officer, and that is Barça. What a shame, but it is what it is. Ferran has had to be very strong mentally. He wrote me a very important message in the summer and I thought: ‘this guy will turn the tables.’ And he embodies what a Barça footballer should be, you have to be very strong mentally and he is,” he said, praising the former City forward.
“I believe, and strongly, that we can win titles. I am convinced. “We must be optimistic, think that we can achieve it,” the Barça coach added later.