Yaya Touré: “Xavi is a brother and, if you give him support and time, he will triumph”

After some very moved last, in which he went through the coaching staff of several teams, Yaya Toure was enjoying the final of the Arab Cup 2021 in Qatar. He attended to AS and other media to discuss the Next year’s World Cup, Xavi’s arrival at Barça and the situation of his former team.

Last February, the Ivorian coast gave the jump to the benches as a technical assistant at the Ukrainian Olympic Donetsk. That first contact lasted just five months and, in June, he went to perform the same function Akhmat Grozny de Chechenia, who plays in the Russian Premier League. He left Russia and now works with the academy of TottenhamBut in recent weeks his agent did not rule out a move to Arteta’s coaching staff at Arsenal.

Xavi has recently become a Barça coach. You agreed with him, do you think it is the right decision?

The first thing, I am culé, from Barça and I continue to support them a lot from a distance. Everyone knew that the next coach who came to Barça was not going to have it easy at all. The club’s situation is not good, to tell the truth and I know that they have financial problems that have not helped them at all lately. But I believe and I am convinced that he can be a good choice, he is a good coach.

Do you see yourself able to wake up and achieve great things with the club of your life?

The question people have to ask themselves is clear: is it fair that Xavi came to Barça now? From what I have been able to see, he is a culé, a friend, a brother and a good person. We must also bear in mind that Barça is a very very important club, only at the level of Real Madrid and Manchester United. For me, if the fans give him time, Xavi has the mentality and the personality to succeed and win things with Barça. He’s a phenomenal guy. With the support of the fans, managers and president, if they give it time, things will turn out well. In football there is nothing for sure and it is not so easy to assure anything or direct Barça. He has a difficult job, but he can do it very well.

The countdown to the World Cup in Qatar has begun. Do you see the country prepared to host the tournament?

Yes. The country has very good fields, very beautiful stadiums and hotels for many people. It will be nice to see how people move and fans come to see their teams. I still want to see the way in which all this is going to be organized, but it looks like it is going to be very positive. When you come here they welcome you very well, the people of Qatar are phenomenal people. The Arab Cup was an important test and it went well. In the Qatar games there were a lot of fans and that’s nice.

It will certainly be special. How do you think that playing on atypical dates can affect footballers?

It is going to be a very different and special World Cup from the rest for many reasons. To begin with, as it says, because it is going to be played in December. Is unusual. It’s going to be something strange, but I think the players are going to be 100% because they are in the middle of the season. It will also be strange for them to play at this point. The player is used to playing this type of competition in May, June and this may be different, but we will see a good level.

What are the advantages of playing in a country with these temperatures and conditions on these dates?

The teams are not going to have to travel 4 or 5 hours like in Russia. Here it will take 20-25 minutes at most. Everything is going to be easier and I think that will help them, they will also come from playing competitions, not on vacation. It’s going to be impressive and I think it’s a World Cup that will go down in history. Teams and fans are going to enjoy football.