“It was a mistake that can never be repeated”
MADRID, 17 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi Hernández, has ensured that the team felt “robbed” in their own “home” last Thursday in the Europa League elimination against Eintracht Frankfurt, in which thousands of Germans packed the Camp Nou , and explained that the massive sale of tickets to rival fans “was a mistake that can never be repeated”.
“I had the feeling that things started badly when we had to go out from behind at the hotel. Then they threw all kinds of targets at us. You feel a bit robbed in your own house. They threw everything at us on the bus, we couldn’t get in through the first tunnel, we had to turn around. We didn’t expect so many people from Eintracht”, he declared at the press conference prior to Monday’s game against Cádiz.
The situation worsened already in the match, which the German team won 2-3. “Everything started badly, then the penalty… It was a fateful night in all senses, at an institutional and sporting level. The night started badly and ended badly. We have to recover, make a clean slate. We must think about the games that remain and to cover the main objective, which is to enter the ‘Champions’. That depends on us, LaLiga no longer depends on us”, he pointed out.
“It’s a tough stick. We had two goals, to win the Europa League and enter the ‘Champions’ directly. It’s a blow, but we have to redo it. I hope and wish that the public is with the team, we need it. We miss the people who were missing. The fans have always been with us, and tomorrow we need them more than ever”, he continued.
In this sense, the Catalan coach pointed to the club as responsible for what happened. “We have not spoken directly yet, they were investigating what had happened. The club will find a solution so that this never happens again. It is a mistake as a club, and they are working to solve it. When they find the explanation, I imagine they will give it to us us first,” he said.
“It was a mistake that can never be repeated. It conditioned the players a lot, they told me at the end of the game; you feel that you are not at home, and everything when we were playing for the pass to the semifinals. It is not an excuse, we were not well footballingly, but it conditioned us. When you see that environment we don’t feel comfortable”, he added.
In addition, Xavi encouraged us to think about the remaining eight games in LaLiga Santander. “We have important rivals, tomorrow Cádiz is risking their lives; Real Sociedad is risking entering Europe, Rayo, not going down to the Second Division… We have an intense week, with three games in seven days and we have to recover well of the hammer blow the other day,” he said. “There are eight finals left and at least we have to meet the goal of being in the ‘Champions’ next year. We hope that, this time, we will have the fans with us, who the other day conditioned us a bit,” he said.
“I suppose that Cádiz will come to defend a lot, along the lines of Eintracht and Levante. They are a tough rival who have improved in many aspects with Sergio; with Álvaro Cervera they already worked very well on the defensive side. He has gotten points lately, he is a uncomfortable rival, Sergio is a coach who takes advantage of the players wherever he goes”, he ventured.
“WE HAVE TO CONSOLIDATE THE GAMING MODEL THAT HAD BEEN LOST”
In another order of things, he spoke of the injury of the canary Pedri, who will probably miss the season. “He is affected, he was in the best moment of the season. It is a blow for everyone. We will see the deadlines, which depend on the sensations, on how the injury heals…”, he said, before confirming that Gerard Piqué will not play this season either Sunday. “There is no injury, it is a discomfort that has been dragging on for a long time and needs rest. It is a matter of discomfort,” he explained.
On what has failed in the team in recent games, the culé coach is clear. “Against Levante we were good at times, but we suffered from the attacks of transitions. We have lost more balls than ever in the last three games. We must continue to believe in what we are doing. We have lowered the level and we have to recover it. It is a process, a change in the game model, and it’s a matter of time, patience and continuing to believe. We have to start competing tomorrow like we did at the Bernabéu”, he asserted.
To do this, he works on “encouraging the group, making him see the mistakes.” “We’ve done things well too, but it’s hard to win, people work well and we have to keep believing. We’re on the right track and the results will come. We have to be proud to at least be in the ‘Champions’ next year”, pointed.
About Sevilla-Real Madrid, he acknowledged that they are “expectant”, but that they focus on their own. “First we must focus on what is ours, then we will see the other rivals. The first objective is to be in the ‘Champions’ next year, and if then we get to compete in LaLiga, much better”, he assured.
“The objective was to get a title this year. We are in second position, I told them that I was proud of how they competed, although we did not play well. It was a game in which we had control of the ball and we did not take advantage of it. This has just begun, This is a project,” he added.
However, the Catalan coach does not consider that the team’s problem is “a physical aspect”, but rather “stupid turnovers” that led to “counterattacks” that they could not stop. “We have to improve the match starts. We have to get ahead on the scoreboard, it’s a key point in today’s football; if you do it, you force the rival to open up spaces”, he explained. “We have improved the defensive line a lot. We still fit into lateral centers and we have to improve the defensive aspect”, he analyzed.
Finally, Xavi invited to “consolidate the game model that had been lost”. “We need more time and patience, to be competitive, we are not competing well enough in Europe. This project started in November and green shoots have been seen. It is not giving us for Europe so far. We have to improve,” he said.
“With this style we have won five ‘Champions’. If we have doubts, we must improve the style of play, not lurch. We must be believers. It has given us results, the history of Barça says so. I have it very clear, we are not going to change his DNA for losing a game. You have to get it back and believe in it,” he concluded.