Oriol Romeu: “I have characteristics of Xavi’s Barça”

The midfielder speaks of the “immense value” of his return to the Barça team and trusts in a good adaptation

MADRID, 28 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The FC Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu described as “immense” the value of his return to the Barça team 12 years later, with enthusiasm and a great “physical and mental” moment to do well, in addition to having the “characteristics” of the team Xavi Hernandez.

“The value of returning to Barça is immense. Wearing this shirt again means a lot. Now I have the challenge of helping the team have a great year, adapting as quickly as possible to everything the coach asks of me and starting to give a great performance from the minute one”, said the ex of the Girona in his first interview to the means of the club culé.

Romeu, presented last week in Los Angeles, highlighted his good year at Girona and the responsibility of covering Sergio Busquets’ loss. “Last season, at Girona, the entire squad maintained a high level and that made me feel very comfortable. All this has allowed me to take that big step that means so much to me, that makes me so excited and that I face it as a magnificent challenge,” he said.

“His ability to give peace of mind and balance to the team is admirable. Also, the perseverance and high performance that he showed in all the duels, I hardly remember a bad match for Busquets. He is an example to follow, to all the professionals who like us We have had the pivot position as a benchmark. Returning to the club and filling this position in the best possible way is a great challenge”, he added about ‘Busi’.

On the other hand, Romeu confessed his enthusiasm for returning home. “When you leave Barça you feel sad because somehow the door to your dream of reaching the first team closes. A footballer’s career goes around and you learn from different coaches, teammates and leagues. The fact of being able to return to the club after so many years, it is an unbeatable opportunity, it comes to me at a great moment, both physically and mentally, and I am looking forward to being able to prove it to be able to help the team”, he stated.

The midfielder now coincides at Barça with an Ilkay Gündogan whom he had as a rival in the Premier. “Whenever we played against City, they were tough matches, we had a hard time getting the ball out of them and he was one of the players who made things difficult for us. Gundogan was very intelligent, he received very well between the lines and he always oriented towards the band where he is. space, it was very difficult to stop him. I think he’s a great signing, he’ll have an immediate performance and he’ll have a great year,” he explained.

In addition, Romeu pointed to his qualities, very much from Xavi’s Barça. “The physical part is important because of my style of play. I like to dominate the midfield area and, above all, notice that the rivals feel intimidated and uncomfortable when they pass by. On the one hand, I like to recover balls and find attacking offensive players quickly, but also at the same time, taking balls from behind, dominating possession, attacking in rival half… These are characteristics of Xavi’s Barça and that’s why I think I can adapt very well and help the team” , he confessed.

Lastly, the Catalan player was asked about Barça’s objectives for the next season. “Fighting for all competitions and being a team with a clear identity that attacks rivals, that is dominant and aggressive and has a very high ambition. With the squad that exists and the team that we are building and the way we want play, we can’t think about anything other than winning everything”, he concluded.