Disappointment. Jug of cold water. blow. Indignation. Failure… There are many names used to describe Barcelona’s virtual elimination from the Champions League after the unexpected draw against Inter and it will have its consequences, at a sporting and also an economic level. The fateful marker generated an earthquake in the box and in the stands, which puts various protagonists of the culé squad under scrutiny. The first of them is Xavi Hernández. The hit weakens his project in the eyes of the fans and also on the main floor of the Camp Nou. «Xavi is the most responsible. They have made him a team tailored to him and with all the signings he has wanted. He has a great team and is responsible for making that line-up, for his game system… », accused Julio Salinas during the usual ‘Desafío Nacex’ before each classic. Laporta, outraged after the game, wanted to go down to the dressing room area. Well advised, he waited to calm down. He met with his coach and his assistants to ask for explanations. He avoided stepping into the locker room, where he would have crossed paths with Piqué and Busquets, two of the players he already pointed out in the Assembly, in which he made them ugly by not wanting to help the club by reducing their salary. Precisely, the two captains were the other greats pointed out in the fateful final draw, by Xavi and by the popular accusation. “Unforgivable and serious defensive errors have been made,” said the coach in the press room and in the talk he had with the team yesterday he criticized them for two individual failures that ruined all the work. He was referring to Piqué, portrayed in two Inter goals, and to Busquets, substituted with half an hour to go. It is true that he encouraged them ahead of the classic (“Let’s go for the League, we can have a great season if we win it,” he harangued them), but the reality is that he punished them by canceling the holiday they had today. There is concern in the Board, which has personally endorsed to be able to make the current squad, and discomfort in the coaching staff. Xavi left very upset, gesticulating and had a hard time falling asleep. «Last year the team did not give us, but this course have been our mistakes and it hurts more. It is a blow, cruel to us », he repeated to himself. Sergio Busquets mixed self-criticism with a message to the box and coaching staff: “It seems that when they score a goal for us, it’s chaos. We were not well positioned tactically. It was a difficult group, but we had to aspire to more, after the signings that have been made.” Related News standard No Soccer – Champions League Xavi: “This Champions League is being cruel to us” Sergi Font standard No Barcelona 3-3 Inter Barça saves the Champions League by a miracle Salvador Sostres The elimination in the Champions League will also have a serious impact on the attempt to relaunch the club economically and in full search of investors and sponsors. Overcoming the group stage was equivalent to 9.6 million and being in the quarterfinals was another 10.6 million. To this we had to add the items corresponding to the ‘market pool’ (distribution of sponsors and television among the Spanish clubs) and the collection of two games at the Camp Nou theoretically against great rivals. That is to say, close to 40 million euros that will not enter the club’s coffers despite already appearing in a “conservative budget”, as described by the economic vice president, Eduard Romeu, last week. Barça had 20.2 million in their accounts to reach the quarterfinals that will no longer arrive. Barcelona would have to win the Europa League to wipe with the total prize (14.4 million) part of what was budgeted for this year.
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