Barcelona receives this Wednesday (9:00 p.m. / Movistar+) against Real Sociedad in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. The Barça team arrives in a good moment of form, despite the locked victory this weekend against Getafe. Xavi Hernández appeared at a press conference to analyze the tie and answer some questions surrounding current affairs with Barça. One of them was the abruptness of which Gavi in their matches. The Barça coach was ironic but was forceful in his response: «It seems silly to me. There is a referee who decides. He puts passion and courage into it. May Gavi be calm. I consider that they make many fouls and whistle few. That which is, of the creators of Villarato And doping, right? “He joked. And he insisted when they told him that they were comparing him to Casemiro: «It seems to me that when he goes to the national team he is wonderful and when he plays for Barça, he crosses the line. So he is an example of grit and courage. And when he is at Barça, no. Y if he wins, he likes less. I tell Gavi that he be calm. May he not stop and put the same passion and courage into him. That he does not stop because he has no roof ».
Focusing now on the party, the nomination of Gil Manzano to referee the clash. It must not be forgotten that the referee was the one who sent off Lewandowski against Osasuna and reflected contempt in the minutes, for which he was penalized for three games. «On our part we don’t care. We will try to make it go unnoticed. They are happy when nothing happens and there is no controversy. Let’s hope that there is no problem and neither is there a problem on Lewandowski’s part. This is what we can control ourselves », he explained. And he added: “I always tell them to forget about the referee. These are situations that we do not control. I play the referee in training, imagine. We can’t control that. Yes our game and our mood. We are in a positive moment. Because of this arbitration appointment, nothing is going to change us.
Xavi also focused on the purely sporting aspect. «The game is key, decisive. We play in front of our fans, we need them. Let’s see if the field is like the other day, with some 80,000 people. It’s a game. I hope to see a great game. They are a great team, both in defense and attack. I visualize a great match, we will see it tomorrow. It will be very interesting”, he pointed out and took the opportunity to praise the work of the coach from San Sebastian: “The proposal of Imanol it’s excellent. He is a proven coach. He has made history with Real. An example of how to do things, work, defensive line. I like many things about Real Sociedad and it is a great merit of Imanol”
The technician did not reveal if he will continue betting on the goalkeeper Substitute in the Cup or if it will be Ter Stegen who is the starter taking into account his state of form and the entity of the rival. «Tomorrow we will decide. We have trained normally and I don’t want to give clues to my players either. I don’t like moving forward,” he said. He also did not deeply assess whether the rival’s approach, more open, favors him: «It depends on how we are too. On the day of the Super Cup everything works out for us and we are perfect. The other day we are not fine. It depends on the moment of the team. It’s not every day you’re so differential, so lucid. You have to take out the games that way too. Be competitive in that way too.”
The coach addressed other aspects, such as possible signings with a week to go before the winter market closes. The coach has suffered the departures of Piqué and Memphis Depay and it does not seem that they are going to sign anyone: «In principle, little movement. I already said that I predicted a quiet market as incorporations. I am calm and happy with the team. Without ruling anything out.”
And he had words for him feminine, eliminated from the Cup in the offices due to improper alignment despite having beaten Osasuna by a resounding 0-9. The man from Egar did not look for excuses: «There are some laws and it is our mistake. They eliminate us for a our mistake and you have to accept it. This is so. It is a law and the law decides.”
