For Xavi there are neither starters nor substitutes. Nor does Bayern or the Champions League exist. Much less the controversies surrounding Jordi Alba or the Griezmann case. “I have been in many meetings but I have not dealt with that case. I haven’t talked to the player either. In any case, Simeone already said that he was a club man”, he said of the Frenchman, condemned to leave after 63 minutes. “I can understand Jordi Alba. But beyond the statements, the important thing for me is that he is being humble, ”he slipped from the second.
Xavi is a coach who likes to be a part of everything that happens around him. Communicating with his soccer players is as important or more important to him than training them. For this reason, the situation of little transparency that Jordi Alba denounced is far from being taken for granted. “I try to be very clear with the players and with him, because of the relationship we have, even more so. I don’t want to lose the group, I try to be honest and go straight ahead. We have talked a lot, he knows perfectly well that there will be competition and that he will play the best. It is not a surprise, it is the world of soccer, a no-brainer, ”he recounted.
Focused on Cádiz, bottom of the table, Xavi was in charge of reminding that the Andalusian team that hosts Barça at the Nuevo Mirandilla made things difficult for Barça last season. He announced that Marcos Alonso and Héctor Bellerín will be included in the list “because they have had a very good week of physical activity and are ready to help.”
Sergi Roberto will not be there, who ended with discomfort. “He is performing very well, I am very happy, he is a very important wild card for the team, he can play in any position, without complaining. He has a little discomfort, it does not lead to injury. Maybe he doesn’t travel to Cádiz, but he will be for the Champions League”.
There was no lack of the usual praise for Robert Lewandowski. “We wouldn’t trade it for the world. He is a very mature footballer”. Also for Ferran Torres, “a footballer who will be very important. He attacks spaces very well, generates chances, that’s what I ask of him. He works a lot, he sacrifices himself for the team, we have a lot of confidence in him”.
