“In the match against Rayo we would need Gavi a lot,” sighed Xavi. Barcelona plays this afternoon in Vallecas, a small stage, with soul and a lot of intensity, where the Blaugrana will greatly miss the youth squad, who was seriously injured with Spain. The problem for the culés’ interests is that then Porto arrive in the Champions League, Atlético in form and Girona leader, before traveling to Antwerp. And in all those games Barça will not have and will miss the young Andalusian midfielder, who will miss the entire season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, affecting the meniscus. “That is a misfortune. Gavi is irreplaceable, because of the heart, the desire, the passion, the courage that he puts in,” cataloged the Terrassa coach.
According to Xavi, there are very few like Barça’s number 6. “I have not seen almost anyone with the winning character that Gavi has. We have to put that spirit of Gavi on the field from now on,” he prescribed. It is the best tribute that the team can pay to his teammate and the best solution so that his long absence is noticed as little as possible.
On Sunday playing Spain-Georgia Gavi completely broke down. It was his 21st game of the season. In two seasons and four months that he has been in the elite, the interior has made 111 appearances with the Blaugrana shirt and 27 international caps for the national team. This very high number of matches and the overexploitation to which international players are subjected is the cause that Xavi Hernández pointed out. “There is no controversy or any problem with the selection. It is a problem of calendar and excess of games,” reasoned the Barcelona coach.
Legend of the best Barça in history and member of the golden era of the Spanish team, he did not take responsibility for the management of Luis de la Fuente, despite the fact that the club sends a report on the burdens of the footballers to their respective teams. when they are cited. “The coach called me on Tuesday. I have a very good relationship with him,” Xavi revealed. “I don’t see it as a problem of the coach’s management, but of the calendar, the load of minutes and the number of games. At 19 years old, Gavi has played a lot. Breaking your crusader is also a matter of misfortune,” he apologized.
Xavi himself suffered a torn knee ligament in December 2005 and knows how hard it is to see how you can’t help, although he did make it to the World Cup in Germany. “I have spoken with Gavi. I have personal experience and I believe that he made me a better, more mature footballer. From there I understood that he had to be more professional, if possible. Take care of myself and do prevention. Knee recovery is always difficult. It is very important not to skip any recovery sessions,” he advised his pupil.
Regarding possible substitutes or the arrival in January of Vitor Roque, he did not want to reveal anything. “There is nothing to announce yet. I am in contact with the president and Deco. They know my position and we will seek a consensus but we lose a player for the entire season. Let’s see if we can incorporate someone,” he recalled, because the squad, which had 19 first team players, was already short before losing Gavi.
Gavi’s loss is not the only one since Ter Stegen has not traveled to Vallecas either, suffering from lower back discomfort that prevented him from aligning with Germany. Iñaki Peña will play between the sticks, who will start for the first time in the League at 24 years old.
The only good news for the coach is that he gets Frenkie de Jong back after two months waiting for him like rain in May. “We have noticed Frenkie’s loss a lot,” confirmed Xavi. Without the Dutchman in the engine room, Barça’s game’s brilliance went out, something that urgently needs to be found at Pedri’s side.
The coach still had embers left from two fires from the last game, the comeback in the second half against Alavés in Montjuïc (2-1). After that match, Xavi focused on the excessive criticism of his players by the press. “I said what I thought. During the Alavés half-time I realized that they were affected by external criticism. I told them to free themselves that all the pressure here is on me. At no time did I use it as an excuse for bad play,” he explained.
In the heat of battle, with nerves and still at 1-1 on the scoreboard, Lewandowski denied Lamine Yamal a greeting on the field. “It’s normal, it happened to me too. Look for my fights with Puyol, Valdés, Villa or Pedro. I remember one with Víctor in Almería. It’s football and we all want to win. “Robert is very aware of Lamine Yamal so that he can be a great footballer,” he settled the matter. And Xavi needs everyone involved to replace Gavi.
