“The atmosphere at the stadium will be one of the keys, it’s important that it’s good. In addition, the grass will be fine and there will be no excuses “, said the Barça coach.
“Barça is the most demanding club in the world. The hardest part. We have an obligation to play well and win. There’s been a spectacular debate all week about what happened. We must always be excellent in everything we do. Winning by playing well is very difficult “, said Xavi, who did not want to look for any comparison with Madrid’s style.
“The history of Barça demands of us, not Madrid. For almost 40 years, when Cruyff came, they put up a bar. I don’t know the idiosyncrasy of Madrid, it has a very big competitive gene “, the Barcelona coach limited himself to saying, assuming that his team” wanted to win the Champions League “. “It simply came to our notice then. We are excited about the Europa League. Yesterday I watched both Champions League matches from home, you know I’m a great footballer. And it must hurt us not to be in the Champions League “, he added.
Now Barça have to “match” the atmosphere they experienced at Frankfurt Stadium last Thursday, where Ferran Torres’ goal is a treasure. “Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like BT aint for me either.”
“We lost too many balls and when that happens we suffer, because four or five players come out like beasts. We need to be neater and better positioned in the transition than the other day. We need to be more responsible with the ball “, claimed Xavi.
“We have trained a lot on a tactical level to attack better,” said the coach, who said he did not know if he could count on Piqué. “That of Gerard will depend on his feelings. There is no doubt that he wants to be there, he is very competitive. He likes big games, and he likes tomorrow. It depends on the pain. If he is not one hundred percent, it is difficult for him to take part “, he admitted.
However, Xavi did not want to set deadlines for the return of Ansu Fati. “We can’t say anything until he feels good. Today, for example, he has had some very good races, with speed peaks. But we don’t set deadlines. ”
The deadline for Barça is to eliminate Eintracht this Thursday to be in the semifinals of the Europa League, assuming that the team has experienced a certain “mental fatigue” as evidenced by the difficulties against Eintracht and Levante.
“For them it is the most important match in their history and we have to match this intensity and this desire. We try to motivate the players by making them see that in every game our lives are at stake. We don’t have much left. ”
That is why he wanted to highlight the performance offered by Luuk de Jong, who scored decisive goals such as the one that gave the victory against Levante. “I really appreciate Luuk, he has been an example. He is an exemplary professional. He doesn’t complain about anything, he always trains one hundred percent “, Xavi remarked. “It’s great to have him on the team. It’s a letter we have. It pairs well and has improved a lot since we arrived. It’s a privilege to have him. ”
