Fifth and last classic of the season. The one that is worth a Cup final. The one that can definitively unseat Real Madrid, a team that only managed to win the first. The one who can consolidate the blaugrana hegemony between the two greats of the League. For this reason, in the mind of Xavi Hernández, FC Barcelona coach, there is no place for the Negreira case. Nor for the open conflict between the blaugrana board chaired by Joan Laporta and Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, whom he claims he does not know. “I’ve only spoken to him a couple of times,†he explained.
Faced with so much institutional and judicial cloud that, at least publicly, has also cooled relations between Real Madrid and Barça, the Blaugrana coach has chosen to shield himself and his footballers. Nothing is more important than the ball. Nothing is more transcendental than, after the 1-0 loss at the Bernabéu, beating Real Madrid tonight at the Camp Nou to get a passport to the 43rd cup final in the history of the blaugrana. “We are focused on other types of wars. The ones that are more soccer. The cup finals are very nice matches to experienceâ€, pointed out the coach, who as a player won three of the 31 Copas del Rey that shine in the Blaugrana museum.
Xavi aspires to qualify for the final as he likes. Pampering the ball and taking possession of it. That was not what happened in the first leg of the semifinals. Circumstances never seen before at Xavi’s Barça occurred at the Bernabéu. Only 35 percent possession, many minutes locked up on the edge of his area and hardly any convincing combinations with the ball. “This time we can’t be proud of how,” the coach conceded after that game.
His idea has not changed. “Our match example is the Super Cup,” he recalled yesterday. Xavi never loses sight of that classic from January 15 in Saudi Arabia (1-3), when Barça, who had lost the first league classic at the Bernabéu (3-1), subdued Real Madrid with quality and clarity to win the first title of the season. The Uruguayan central defender Ronald Araújo pointed out what many thought. “This match is the beginning of a new era,” he slipped. At that time, Barcelona already ruled the League, but with just three points of rent over Carlo Ancelotti’s. Today, after beating Real Madrid again at the Camp Nou (2-1), that distance is 12 points. Mission practically accomplished for the blaugrana in the domestic competition.
Arabia was also the scene in which the coach found the key for the four midfielders, with Gavi acting as a false left winger, with Pedri, Busquets and Frenkie de Jong in the engine room, and a defense that has proven to be an authentic wall: Araújo, Koundé, Christensen and Balde. The average age of that Barça was 25.2 years compared to 28.3 for Real Madrid.
It happens that, as happened in the first leg, Xavi will have to line up an eleven without the injured Pedri, Dembélé and Christensen. And add another sensitive loss: that of Frenkie de Jong, the undisputed starter in all the classics this season. “It is true that without Frenkie we are less neat, but we will still win with our ideaâ€, warned Xavi, convinced that Barça can give the same level despite such notable absences. “We must not forget where we come from. There is a very clear evolution. At the beginning of the season, despite being eliminated in the Champions League, I already saw possibilities of winning titles with this team. I was always optimistic. And if we win the joy will be double. The pressure is on Real Madrid”, stressed the coach who, despite having won three of the four clásicos played, thinks that the whites “continue to be the favourites”.
Xavi outlined his reasons. “Real Madrid is the current champion of the League and the Champions League. How long has it been since you lost a tie?†he asked. Probably, the coach already knew that the whites have not been eliminated in a double game since May 2021 against Chelsea, in the Champions League semifinals. almost 2 years ago.
The clásico will be refereed by MartÃnez Munuera, the last protagonist of the videos that Real Madrid Televisión dedicates to the referees who, according to his criteria, have harmed them. “MartÃnez Munuera neither likes me nor dislikes him. Let him do it in the best way. I believe in the honesty of the refereesâ€, sentenced Xavi.
