The coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi Hernández, has ensured that nobody is going to be able to “destabilize” the team with the ‘Negreira case’, and less before the Clásico this Sunday against Real Madrid, where they hope to hit “a blow on the table”and recalled that winning 1-0 “is a fantastic result” and that this is how the club’s first European Cup was won, when “nobody said anything like that”.
“They are not going to destabilize us, they are not going to achieve it. We are very stable. We are going to compete and try to win tomorrow, which It would be a very strong and hard blow to win LaLiga. We are very stabilized, there is no problem with that, “she declared at a press conference.” We haven’t talked about the subject of the referees”he insisted.
In this sense, he appealed to the message of Joan Laporta, who assured that there was a smear campaign against the entity and that he asked the partners to be “calm”. “Everything the president says goes to massis the project leader. I don’t want to talk about it, I’ve already talked a lot. I focus on soccer. Tomorrow is a transcendent game in LaLiga, which is the great objective of this season,” he said.
Nor is he concerned about the environment that can be found in the fields of Spain. “With all the hostility that we live in Bilbao, surely away from home it will be similar to what we live there. We have to close in on ourselves we must be hermetic, very strong mentally, and think about football. You have to try to win, nothing more. We are focused on the game,” she noted.
In addition, the Catalan coach does not care that the successes of the best period of the club are put in doubt. “It doesn’t bother me, people can think what they want, I know that I won lawfully. I never felt that I won because of the referees, and if that was the case, I would go home, really. Just as I don’t want to be harmed, I don’t want to be benefited“, he warned.
About the game, he appealed to give “a blow on the table” to distance himself even more from the white team. “In case of win, it would be a blow on the table, it would be 12 points with 12 games to go. It would not be definitive, but it would be a strong blow for us. Whatever happens, I think it will not be final,” he said.
He also confessed “very motivated.” “I am very culé and I like to play this type of parties. The Clásicos put me on, they extra-motivate me. The scenario is very good for us: we have an important advantage in LaLiga, there are nine points, and we are playing at home. I have good feelings. We are very excited to show our best version playing at home,” he said.
“The pressure to win is always on ‘Can Barça’. Madrid is in a worse situation at the classification level, but we only have the pressure being Barcelona. For me, Barça is the biggest club in the world and we always have that pressure. But they will also have, and more in the situation that they are, that they are seconds, “he continued.
Despite the criticism for the team’s play, Xavi was optimistic. “One thing is the result and another the style. We will never change the style, we will never close behind. We are always proactive and try to push high, we always want to have the ball. The idea is not touched. Barça won the first European Cup 1-0 with Koeman’s goal and nobody said anything like that. All the respect for the ‘Cholo’ and for everyone. I don’t have to meet anyone, just my footballers and my president,” he said.
“What happens with 1-0? Given the choice, I prefer 4-0 or 5-4, but it’s hard to score goals, people defend well… Those who haven’t played football can’t understand what it’s like to have to an opponent in front, and more to Real Madrid, champion of the ‘Champions’. Winning 1-0 is a fantastic result, it’s wonderful. What’s the problem?” he added.
In another order of things, he spoke about the state of Pedri, who will miss the Classic. “Pedri arrived very just, we knew there was a risk. Yesterday he returned to training and did not feel 100% and, if you are not 100%, the best thing to do is to recover well. We talked to him and told him that he didn’t need to force anything. It is an important game that can be decisive, but it is not a great final. We don’t want to lose Pedri for two more months, although we are capable of dominating without him,” he said.
He also spoke about the duel between Vinícius and Ronald Araujo. “Araujo is very strong physically, he is fast, he is fast, he senses very well where the opponent is going to be unmarked. He is a physical marvel, he is responsible and a leader. He is a world-class defender, currently one of the best in the world. Having Ronald in the team is a guarantee, it’s an advantage. When he has had to face Vinícius, normally he has won that duel, but Vinícius makes a lot of difference, he is a player that I like very much: how he faces, the personality he has… Madrid has an extraordinary player“, he stressed.