Xavi: “The goal is to finish second”

FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has assured that although “major goals” such as winning the EA Sports LaLiga or the Champions League are not possible, “Without doing their homework,” they have another “minimum goal.” for example, to “come second” to qualify for the Spanish Super Cup, for which they will have to “give a plus”, starting with this Monday’s match against Valencia.

Girona – main rival

“For not doing our homework, we have to give more, we have to give more. We have to somehow turn this situation around, finish the season well, with good feelings, and we have a goal to finish second in the standings. We are committed to fighting hard for the title next season,” he said at a press conference before the match at the Luis Companys stadium.

In this sense, he emphasized that the goal is to “reach second place.” “We have a minimum goal of getting into the Champions League, given yesterday’s defeat to Athletic.. We want to finish second, we can qualify for the Super Cup next year,” he said. “We trained very well. With complete sincerity and honesty, I saw that the team was very involved. People want to win tomorrow, finish the season well, finish it in a good mood, and that’s the main goal. For me, I’m happy to continue for another year. “I have all the enthusiasm, strength and energy in the world to prepare for next season,” he warned.

Change mind

Regarding his decision to continue, he admitted that “the trust that both Deco and the President had” was decisive. “They are optimistic, and so am I.. Last season we were greatly affected by the fact that we were not able to complete everything we planned, but we hope that this year, being optimistic, we will be able to do it,” he said.

“We are all united, everything was agreed upon with Deco, with the president, with the sports commission, with the staff. Nothing will change. We can achieve the 1-1 rule, which would help us a lot. We remain focused.” on the current season: “There are six games left and we have goals, even if they are not the main goals of the season, but there are still games left and we are concentrating on that. And when the time comes to plan, it will be ready,” he added.

He also insisted that the situation at the club will “have some impact on the planning for next season.” “First we have to know where we are economically, what we can do about the fair play issue.” We are in almost the same circumstances as last year. Can we really achieve this 1-1 rule? a little bit,” he said. “I can’t control the environment, I control the players, my staff, even talking to Deku or the ‘prezi’. We’re focused on getting that second place,” he continued.

“I really want to continue with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy, a lot of strength. We are already preparing and analyzing what happened to us. We made the diagnosis so we can improve next year.” To be able to compete in the best possible way with all the enthusiasm possible. We have to prepare for the rest of the season, finish it with good feelings, get second place, which is the main goal, and prepare very well for next season. with enthusiasm,” he continued.

Visit Montilivi the next day

However, the Kule coach did not want to talk about the upcoming match with Girona. “The most important thing is tomorrow, these are three very important points, and then we will think about Girona. And yes, this is a direct and very strong opponent. And also Atlético Madrid. There is a minimum goal – to reach the playoffs. Champions League and also an interesting goal: to finish second so that we can compete for the Super Cup next year,” he insisted.

In another vein, he assured that what Valencia is doing has “great merit.” “Pipo Baraja is doing an outstanding job. There is a lot of merit in what he does with young players at home. They are a brave, dynamic team, fast up front, players with excellent transitions, excellent counter-attacks.” direct football,” he analyzed.

“They are a difficult, aggressive opponent, we analyzed them: they do everything well, they have a fantastic coach who knows his home.Valencia was a legend there and doing well, and what Baraja is doing has a lot of merit. Their players are young, energetic and passionate, and that is what worries and occupies us today, not planning for next season,” he explained.

For this reason, he did not want to talk about the possibility of renting Vitor Roque. “We haven’t decided anything yet because there are six games left. With Deco and the president we can agree on what is best for each player, but we have not decided anything yet,” he said. “It’s not easy to adapt here at 18 or 19 years old. It is not easy to change the situation at Barça, especially at this age. He needs time to adapt, more minutes, perhaps more confidence. He is a player who needs confidence and performance, at the same time we will determine the end of the season,” he assured.

On the other hand, the Catalan coach stated that Pedri is “fine” and will be “available” this Monday.. “Tomorrow we will provide a list, but in principle he will be on the list and will help the team 100%,” he said, before talking about the injured Frenkie de Jong. “For me he is a fundamental footballer, he is a very important footballer. He was fortunate that these three injuries occurred in the same ankle, which impacted his season slightly. It’s a shame because he was in very bad shape. high level to these injuries,” he said.

Finally, Xavi congratulated Barça Women for reaching the Champions final. “They showed once again that they are the best team in the world in women’s football. Getting back to the finals, despite all the difficulties, was not easy. We are very proud of the work done by women’s football,” he concluded.