Confirms the loss of Ter Stegen and the return of Frenkie De Jong
BARCELONA, 24 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of FC Barcelona, He pointed out that despite the absences of Gavi and Ter Stegen, they hope, with the help of a recovered Frenkie De Jong, to be able to win “finally” at the Vallecas Stadium.
“It will be an intense match, an aggressive match, a second-ball match, Rayo plays very vertical, direct football. Vallecas is always a very complicated field, in recent times we have not been able to beat this team. Therefore, a difficult match and a complicated start. But well, we have trained these days with the players who have stayed here well, with the mentality and the desire to get the three points and win, to finally beat a Rayo team that has been costing us a lot in recent times. “he acknowledged at a press conference.
In this sense, he highlighted the danger of Rayo’s counters. “They have high-level footballers in terms of speed and counterattacks. Well, it is difficult for us because it is an intense team, because it is an uncomfortable field, because they dominate the second ball a lot, because they put a lot of soul into it and I think that Francisco also transmits that; a lot of courage, a lot of soul, a lot of aggressiveness. Really difficult start tomorrow,” he reiterated.
“There will be a moment when we lose control. They are well placed due to the pressure after loss, which we have to recover. We have to recover this aggressiveness in high pressure. Situations that last year we did excellently, this year we have dropped and that is why it is costing us more to win the games,” he noted.
Furthermore, beyond Gavi’s well-known absence for the entire season, he confirmed that he will not be able to count on the starting goalkeeper and Zamora from last year, the German Marc-André Ter Stegen. Also a result of the ‘FIFA virus’. “Tomorrow Marc won’t be able to be there, Iñaki Peña will play and all the confidence in him. He always trains well, he is a professional, I think he is very prepared and has absolute confidence in Iñaki,” he noted about the Valencian goalkeeper.
The positive part is the return after injury of the Dutchman Frenkie De Jong. “We have noticed a lot the loss of Frenkie, of Pedri when he has not been there, now we will surely notice Gavi’s. Frenkie is a very important footballer for us, he is fine, he has trained very well, 100%, he has been with the group for days and It’s available, it’s ready to play, yes,” he announced.
“Frenkie and Pedri are footballers who mark the face of the team a bit, in the end they carry the weight of the group, the group, the team, they make differences in this sense, they touch many balls and it is essential that they are well. Pedri has done well This break is very good. He has trained very well with us, good feelings, both he and Frenkie and I think that the team must take a step forward with them in the team,” he added, evaluating Pedri’s previous return to the group as a positive.
With more or less casualties, the truth is that against Alavés, despite achieving victory (2-1), the team did not play well in the first half and wanted to explain what he was referring to when he regretted the press criticism of his equipment. “At half-time against Alavés, which was the last game, I realized that many players were affected by external criticism and I tried to convey to them that they should play calmly, that they should let go, that here the pressure was on me as a coach,” he pointed out.
“I told them that I had complete confidence in them, that they should forget about the criticism. That’s why I said at a press conference that the issue of the environment was affecting us, but at no time did I use it as an excuse. I’m not looking for excuses, we played the game badly. first part because of us, but the criticism from those around us affected many footballers, without a doubt,” he said.
The truth is that they have a tough schedule ahead of them, with duels against Atlético de Madrid and Girona in LaLiga. “Now we have seven games before Christmas, the Christmas break, and well in this sense we have two of the ‘Champions’, five of the League that are transcendent and for the future of the two championships. But everything is important, in the end everything adds up. We have to recover our feelings, get back to the game we had 3-4 games ago and by playing well I think we will get results,” he predicted.
A key piece for this is Robert Lewandowski, who seems to be recovering his scoring ability. “Robert needs the team and the team needs Robert. The same thing happens with all the players. He is fundamental, he is our scorer, he is the player who makes the difference, in the last game, without going any further, he makes the difference with a cross of Koundé and scores a great goal, which puts the tie on the scoreboard of the match. Therefore, he is always there, regardless of the streak he has, positive or negative, always working,” he defended him.
Xavi also spoke about Raphinha and the possibility of him occupying Gavi’s interior position in the long term. “Raphinha is a player with a lot of mobility, who goes very well into space and we can take advantage of it there. The interior tackles, second line tackles, behind the centre-back. He has a very good shot from outside the area and he has a goal, he has last pass and then playing on the wing or playing inside, he is a footballer who can make a lot of difference. We see him capable of playing inside,” he argued.