The coach insists on lowering expectations and ensures that the pressure is on him
Xavi acknowledges that the market situation makes him uncomfortable
“I feel that now the pressure is on me. I try to pass this on to the players so that they offer their talent, their best performance. The pressure is on me.” Xavi knows it: this season there will be less patience and the players notice it.
He already warned after the league debut: “It may be that they felt the weight of expectations a little bit.” So a bad result in Anoeta would cause a tense atmosphere at the first change. Opposite will be Real Sociedad, “an important test”, in the words of Xavi. “Three points that would be vital for us,” he said. A sentence that sounded somewhat exaggerated at the gates of the second day, but that denotes the extremist nature of the club.
The draw of the debut has lowered a euphoria that the coach is trying to stop in the last press conferences. Xavi remembered that the Barça comes from a complicated time. “There is nothing easy. We are in the elite of football and we must carry the flag of humility, work and sacrifice. This does not change from one day to the next. The day of Rayo was a football disgrace. We deserved to win, we played a good game, but we lacked effectiveness. We have a point of three and this is not a good baggage & rdquor ;.
The technician also acknowledged a certain weariness with the market and the noise that accompanies the team, although he came to assess the situation of several footballers. “At the moment no one has left. Tomorrow we will be able to use Memphis and Aubameyang. If an offer arrives for either of them, we will assess what we do. The priority, today, is to sign up Jules [Koundé]. From there, we’ll see if we make a move or not.”
Xavi recognizes that it is not easy to manage the team with several players being on the wire. “It’s not a comfortable situation for the players we don’t have. The market should be closed before the official competition starts. This is what I think, it’s poorly organized. In the end, nobody works in peace. You prepare a match with a player and, at the end of the week, he ends up leaving. It’s not the ideal scenario, it’s clear”.