He Barça begins this Thursday against Osasuna the defense of the title of the Spain Supercup which they won brilliantly last year in Riyadh in a final in which they defeated Real Madrid. This is the fourth edition of the competition that is played in Saudi Arabia and Xavi expects things to happen, obviously positive, for your team. He wants the Super Cup to become a turning point for a group that continues to generate doubts in its game, that is seven points behind the leaders in the League and that has gone twenty games without winning by more than one goal difference.
Xavi He has been the protagonist in the other three super cups played in Arabia, although in an indirect way, and he wants to be it again by revalidating the title. She knows that things always happen here. They happened in 2020, when Barça fell in the semifinals that were played in Jeddah against Atlético de Madrid after a brilliant match. Josep Maria Bartomeu struck down Ernesto Valverde after arriving in Barcelona and an expedition formed by Éric Abidal, then technical secretary, and who was CEO of the club, Óscar Grau, traveled to Doha to convince Xavi that the Egarense take charge of the team. The one from Terrassa believed that it was not his time and declined the offer.
Two years later, in 2022, he did travel to Riyadh as Barça coach. He had been in office for a short time after replacing Ronald Koeman and the team was climbing positions in the League and was reinforced in the winter market. The blaugranas faced Real Madrid and lost in extra time. Barça had had such a bad time in the previous months that that defeat was celebrated almost as a triumph, with president Joan Laporta going down to the locker room to congratulate Xavi and the players. Barça was competing again and being able to fight with the greats.
Real Madrid qualifies for the Super Cup final in extra time of the derby dreamed by Arabia
That prophecy was fulfilled. Just one year later, the team Xavi was proclaimed champion of the Super Cup, being much superior to Real Madrid in the final of Riyadh. The club then proclaimed that a new era was beginning. It seemed that the prediction could come true when the Catalans won the League with much superiority a few months later, but that project that seemed to have reached cruising speed has suddenly stopped this season. Even Carlo Ancelotti is asked by Madrid journalists in a mocking manner about that Barça proclamation of the new era.
Nothing will be saved
Xavi knows that things happen in the Super Cup. Good and bad. And he wants this edition to be good again. Like last year. Winning the title will bring the tranquility to the club that there is not today. Falling this Thursday against Osasuna could cause them to enter a crisis more than dangerous. The Navarrese team is the first obstacle in the race towards what would be Xavi’s third title as Barça coach. Therefore, nothing will be saved in the match against the ‘rojillos’.
Thus, I cancel and Pedri They have traveled to Riyadh without medical clearance. In no case will the players be forced and it is most likely that they will only play a hypothetical final, but it is not ruled out that some of them could have a minute if necessary against an Osasuna that plays this competition as a prize after being a finalist in the past Copa del Rey, but he is not going through his best moment of play either. He has worked hard so far this year to defeat last-place Almería and eliminate Castellón in the Cup, while he was only able to win one of the last eight league games he played in 2023. In addition, he comes to the game without one of his most dangerous attackers, Chimy Ávila.
On the Barbastro side, in addition to the long-term injuries to Gavi, Ter Stegen and Marcos Alonso, Iñigo Martínez, Xavi’s trusted centre-back, was added in Barbastro. With Cancelo and Pedri waiting to receive medical discharge in Riyadh, the one from Terrassa will bet on defense with three center backs that gave such good results last season, while up there he must decide whether to continue with Ferran Torres after another bad game by Joao Félix in the Cup or return the lost ownership in Las Palmas to the Portuguese. Furthermore, the logical thing is that captain Sergi Roberto continues in the eleven after his good performances in recent games to seek a place in the final, which is mandatory to avoid a crisis.
Probable lineups
Barça: Ter Roasting; Kound, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Frenkie de Jong, Sergi Roberto, Gündogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
health: Sergio Herrera; Areso, Catena, David García, Rubén Peña; Moncayola, Iker Muñoz, Moi Gómez, Aimar Oroz: Arnáiz and Budimir.
2024-01-11 13:09:49
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