Speaking to the Catalan sports paper “Sport” last week, Barça’s
Xavi Hernadez dismissed those who claimed Barça’s winning cycle had come
to an end “the people who say that just don’t like Barça!”
No plans to slow down just yet
Xavi was also asked about whether he should begin to slow down and
choose his games now that he is 33, but he was having none of it and was
adamant: “I’ve heard that kind of comment for the last three or four
years now. Of course I’m 33 and I’ve been playing at the top level for
15 years now - I can’t deny that, but I feel good and I want to keep
playing for a few years more yet”
With the Spanish season over, Xavi Hernadez spoke to the Catalan sports paper “
Sport”
last week and insisted that Barça remain the dominant footballing force
they have been over the last few years. The Catalan midfielder also
revealed he’d rather lose playing well than win playing badly, gave his
own take on the defeat to Bayern and made it clear he’s not thinking
about retiring just yet.
“You have to look beyond simply the results and examine how the games went”
Xavi Hernandez dismissed any claims that Barça’s wonderful era of
success is on the wane in his interview: “It makes me laugh when people
say that. I’ve been hearing the same thing for years now and
unfortunately for some people, it just never happens. The people saying
that just don’t like Barça and so we simply ignore them and carry on
enjoying the success”. The Catalan also reckons Bayern’s triumph doesn’t
necessarily mark a changing of the guard at the top of the European
game: “we are just talking about one successful season – what are you
saying then, that Chelsea were better than Bayern last year when they
beat them?”
Bayern defeat has to be put into context
Asked about the defeat to Bayern in the Champions League semi finals,
Xavi was adamant that although the Germans were clear winners, “you
have to look beyond simply the results and examine how the games went.
They were forced to change their way of playing when they faced us and
didn’t play with their usual open style – they used the speed of their
wingers, they pressed us well and defended solidly, but we dominated
possession, they couldn’t take that from us”. For Xavi, the teams came
into the match on unequal terms – something he puts down to the demands
of the Spanish season: “they were stronger and sharper coming into the
match, but there are many reasons for that and the fact that neither we
nor Madrid got to the final this year. The battles we have with Madrid
really takes it out of us, it’s not the same in Germany, they don’t have
that intensity of rivalry. This year’s Spanish Cup semi finals were
really hard and if we carry on like that it’s clear that we aren’t going
to get to April or May in the same condition that they do”.
Need to change Spanish Cup format
For Xavi, the best way to alleviate the pressures of the Spanish game
is: “make the cup games single matches, not over two legs. That would
reduce the number of games we played by four or five and it will also
mean the games are more attractive, as the smaller teams have a better
chance in a one-off knock out game. If the Spanish Federation wants our
teams to get through to more Champions League finals, they have to help
us out a bit”.
“I don’t like negative football”
Xavi also explained that it’s not just winning that counts, but how
the game is played: “ I’d rather lose a Cup Final playing well – as long
as we’ve already won the league of course – just like Bielsa’s Athletic
Bilbao did in the Spanish Cup Final two years ago against us. They took
us on toe to toe and didn’t abandon their attacking philosophy – that
will stick in my mind for ever, but I’ve already forgotten how Chelsea
played when they won the Champions League. I don’t like defensive,
negative football that just looks for a result – I don’t enjoy it and it
bores me to death!”
