Barça faces its first litmus test in Seville after the end of the transfer market

The transfer market is finally over.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
02 September 2022 Friday 23:37
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Barça faces its first litmus test in Seville after the end of the transfer market

The transfer market is finally over. And Xavi breathes a sigh of relief, happy to be able to count on a squad that meets his expectations, although he pointed out that “some player has been missing”, most likely thinking of Bernardo Silva and Azpilicueta. With a squad installed between the remarkable high and the excellent, the Barça coach will test the football of his pupils tonight at the Sánchez Pizjuán stadium against Sevilla. Although for the coach it will be "football and the ball that will dictate the sentence" when the time comes to make notes, Xavi also recognizes that all the pressure falls on him. “This profession is very ungrateful. If you lose you can't go out on the street, ”he joked.

It happens that such a level of demand does not bother the Blaugrana coach at all. Quite the contrary. Xavi is into challenges. "The day he feels that I can no longer contribute more, I will leave," he said. He already did it as a player in 2015 at the age of 35 when former president Bartomeu proposed to extend his contract for three more years. The same will happen to the captains. Not to say that it is already happening to them. "It's hard to accept it," said Xavi, who put out the Jordi Alba fire as best he could, who received a proposal that the club did not see with bad eyes to join Inter Milan on loan.

“I want Jordi here. I have a lot of affinity with him, he is a leader who is going to help us a lot”, stressed Xavi, who also highlighted Piqué's high performance in the last weekly training sessions. “I see him well. He has trained a lot. Now there is a lot of debate with the captains. I mean they help regardless of whether they play or not. The commitment is impeccable, there will be no problem”. Proof of this was the hug that Jordi Alba gave his main competition this year. This is Marcos Alonso. The left-back and Héctor Bellerín were the last to join the Blaugrana ship. The former Chelsea player was registered yesterday and his name, like Bellerín's and the other five new signings, also appears in the registrations to play the Champions League. “The pressure is for me but the squad is for Barça”, said the coach.

Although neither Bellerín nor Alonso entered the squad list to travel to Seville due to their premature arrival, they did make their debut in the training session. As is tradition, their new colleagues welcomed them with the friendly tunnel of collejas. “I wanted pure sides. Bellerin is a great professional trained at home. Marcos Alonso is a proven, mature and versatile player. He comes from the Premier League and has a lot of experience. The club has made an effort to bring them and they have also made an effort to come, ”said Xavi. He wanted the coach to make a special mention in this transfer market to the work of director of football Mateu Alemany. “He goes to the front and has a lot of experience. He knows how to negotiate. He is a person with whom you have the feeling that you are protected. He is a very valid person ”, insisted the egarense.

Alemany was, together with Xavi, a key player in the exit operation. “Everyone was very professional. Even those he didn't count on. They trained very well until the last day”, said Xavi who remembered Aubameyang, transferred to Chelsea. “He has been an example, he has made a difference and as a person he is a treasure. But it was an opportunity for him and for the club”, he pointed out. For the opportunity that the squad has to win titles again. Would the opposite be a failure?, they asked Xavi. "We're going to think we're going to win," he replied.