The draw in Vallecas was not the best way to face the two most important weeks of the season so far: with the visits of Porto in the Champions League, this Tuesday, and Atlético and Girona in the League. However, Xavi Hernández does not notice that his chair on the bench is moving, even though the team is not playing well and has fallen to 4 points behind Real Madrid. The coach assures that he notices the support of the club and does not feel alone. "Only? Luckily not",
“I notice a lot of confidence from the president. There is faith in the project. Laporta, Deco, Márquez... we are all adding. If it doesn't come out, I'll be the first to admit it. But let me try,” he revealed.
Parallel to the press conference, it was president Joan Laporta who spoke at a solidarity event for La Marató de TV3 and gave his support to the coach. “Amen to the president. “That's what I told you but you don't believe me,” he joked.
Xavi does not give any second reading to the fact that the president was with the subsidiary in Palamós on Sunday. “It is a sign that we are united. The president always goes down to the locker room with us. There is no interpretation, but a feeling of normality. He does it with the feminine, with the sections…”, he recalled.
From the outside, the Terrassa coach gave an image of calm and having the situation under control. “I'm fine, energetic and positive. I have blind faith in footballers. I think the harder I work, the luckier I get. It's what they taught me. The criticism is a reminder of what I experienced in the past as a footballer,” he said about the criticism. "I firmly believe that we will play well again. If not, I wouldn't be here," he said.
In his opinion, footballers also identify with their model and their style. “People are comfortable with the plan, they feel good and there is no problem with that. Things don't go quite right for us, but the Vallecas game, after seeing it repeated, is a winnable one,” he assured.
Xavi, yes, asked his players for one more point. Especially in terms of mentality, because by beating Porto at home the team can qualify as first in the group for the round of 16 of the Champions League. “It would be to fulfill one of the objectives,” he said, although he still does not know if he will be able to count on Ter Stegen.
The coach wants a better version of the team, one that goes for the game from the opening whistle. “There are times when you have to be more generous, more humble and work harder,” he harangued them. “We reacted in the second half when they had already scored on us. No, you have to go full throttle from the first minute. The most difficult thing in sports is to win after having won. That's why there is so much admiration for athletes who don't stop winning. “You have to have more of a winning mentality and be a competitive animal.”
