BARCELONA, 3 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of FC Barcelona, behind Barça, already only 5 points.
“After the defeat against Real Madrid at home, I think the team has also made a step forward in training, in intensity. Trying to show that we have to react, we have to react tomorrow and win the three points,” he said in Press conference.
Of course, he does not trust a Royal Society that is doing “things very well.” “They are a ‘Champions’ level rival, with the same coach as many years ago. They have a high level in both defense and attack, in intensity, I think they are one of the best teams in defensive line. They do many things well, I think that Imanol is one of the best coaches in the category,” he highlighted.
“We are facing a Champions League team, so tomorrow will be very difficult. Of course, we have recovered many players. Raphinha and Lewandowski are already ready. Also Pedri, which is very good news for the team and for him too. So we are ready to compete, but knowing that we will have many difficulties. Going to the Reale Arena is always very difficult, but we are ready,” he acknowledged.
And regarding the former Blaugrana Take Kubo, he assured that he is one of the “most differentiated” footballers of Real Sociedad. “He is in a moment of extraordinary confidence, he scores goals, he gives assists, he scores losses. We must not let him think, be on top of him, that there is always defensive help, that we work on it and in that we are good,” he warned his team.
Xavi will have the help of Pedri, back on the list after 71 days and 12 games away from the team. “Pedri is available and is at 100%. It is very good news for the team, for him also mentally, that he is training very well this week. And I see him prepared. Great news for the team,” he reiterated.
“Frenkie is not yet ready. It has not been delayed, those were the deadlines that we thought were appropriate. It depends on the feelings, I can’t answer anything else. Just as Pedri has great feelings and has been discharged from the hospital, Frenkie is not yet, that’s the difference “It hurts him, it costs him, he has tried it, he has tried, the attitude is great, but he is in pain,” he commented on the Dutchman’s loss.
“We work a lot on injury prevention, and more so that there are no relapses, that everyone has continuity, because he is a footballer, for me, capital, you already know, we don’t discover anything. He is a very talented footballer, who can dominate the world. The way we want to play is essential to show that the footballers we have today at Barça are worth a lot,” he explained.
On the other hand, he commented on the difficulty of directing Barça due to the pressure from the environment. “Barça is this, when we play well we go for the result. When there is a result that we do not play well. If we win 3-0 it is because we could have scored 5 and if we win 4-3 we concede too much, well, we are the… I believe that it is a cultural issue for Catalans that we always want excellence and it cannot always be achieved in this sport,” he argued.
“Today we are there and tomorrow we are not and every week we see that this or that coach is fired. Well, this is the first thing they teach you in the coaching course. They tell you, are you prepared to be thrown out on the street? This is how it is “It is also the requirement of being a coach and even more so in the elite,” he responded to how he personally handles this pressure.