Fourth classic of the season. Sixth for Xavi Hernández as coach of FC Barcelona. And the first that he will direct at the Camp Nou since hiring him as coach in November 2021. But above all it is the classic that, in the event of victory, can leave his Barcelona with a 12-point advantage over Real Madrid. And no one, not even the Negreira case, can separate the Blaugrana coach from the goal. That of giving “the blow to the League.”
“But it’s not definitive,” the Blaugrana coach immediately qualified, little friend of transcendental adjectives and their corresponding synonyms such as key matches, matches that mark seasons or finals if they are not. He knows and defends tooth and nail that after the classic there will still be 12 games (36 points) ahead in case of victory. Until the math says otherwise, everything is at stake. Everything is possible.
Xavi already knows what it’s like to beat Real Madrid. This course after the defeat at the Bernabéu, in the League (3-1) in October they have scored two victories. Both were very different. In the first, his team won the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia 3-1, dominating and displaying his best face. The second was at the Bernabéu for the minimum locked up and defending. “What about 1-0? Barça won the first European Cup, with a goal from Koeman, 1-0 and nothing happened. Given the choice, I prefer a 4-0 or 5-4 but it is difficult to score goals. Winning 1-0 is wonderful”, defended Xavi.
But it’s not the idea. Xavi wants to dominate. He wants to reign with the ball. He wants goals and, since he can’t play, he wants to suffer as little as possible. This time, contrary to what happened in the Cup, the coach has had a week to meticulously prepare all the scenarios. “We envision a game where we will try to have more possession and push up,” he said.
It will have to do it without Pedri, key in the blaugrana game and in victories by the minimum. Of the nine games that Barça have won with a goal advantage this season, four have been decided with goals from the canary. “He suffered in training and you don’t have to take risks. We don’t want to waste two more months. Without him and without Dembélé we can also dominate Madrid ”, he warned.
Although it will be the Camp Nou who will decide whether or not there is a League, on the pitch the pressure is left to the whites “because of the classification and because they play here”. In the box and with the Negreira case flying over like a black nebula, the technician looks for Laporta. “What the president says goes to mass. He is the project leader. He focused me on soccer, ”he pointed out. But no matter how much it weighs on him, until the president gives the pertinent explanations, Xavi knows that he has become the spokesman for the club in everything and for everyone.
