And after many months of moderating the discourse, protecting his players to the extreme, Xavi Hernández opened up "fully." The Barça coach radically changed his message after the suffered victory in Montjuïc against bottom team Almería. Despite the team's poor play, the player from Terrassa played the violin after the defeats against Girona and Antwerp and the draw against Valencia, always praising the few positive aspects that he could rescue. But after his team's performance against the Andalusians he smashed the violin with each of his statements to the media.
“We lacked soul in the first half. It is unacceptable,” the coach said repeatedly about a performance by his team that ended with whistles at half-time. “It's normal,” he justified the fans' anger. Barça improved after the restart largely, according to the Egarense, due to his intervention in the locker room during the intermission.
“I have spoken very clearly. I think the talk at half-time went well, it is the hardest I have done as a coach,” he said without revealing what the words were addressed to his players. It was not necessary. “Either we run like animals or it doesn't reach us. We are not the Barça of 2010, we do not have that quality. Last year we were a team with soul. What we cannot do is not give everything. Either we give in or we won't win anything. Therefore, we must wake up. If it doesn't come to us through football, it has to come to us through soul," he claimed to his players, to whom he asked "one more step in attitude, rhythm and intensity, the values that cannot fail, that are non-negotiable."
Xavi promised a before and after of bordering on ridiculousness against Almería. He assured that “it will not happen again” and that “those who are better, those who give everything on the field, will play.” “I must be more demanding,” he put it as his duties, in addition to pointing out the “lack of confidence” due to the bad results as one of the reasons for the bad game. “I'm not angry with the players. They play stiff. Then they were released.”
Xavi's anger, the first so harsh in public since he came to the bench, turned into relief when he saw the reaction after the restart. “With the enthusiasm we put into the second half we can do things. You cannot target a player. If you see the intensity of any footballer in the first half, it has nothing to do with the second. He doesn't come to us to score goals, so let's work. The Barça of the second half is the one we want,” insisted the coach, who could not hide the discomfort on his face. When going into the details, he once again highlighted the lack of effectiveness in the “30 shots” they attempted and the lack of defensive strength, with “two goals given away.” “We have complicated ourselves,” he repeated a message that is practically a mantra this year.
Among so much vehemence, Xavi also brought out that optimistic side that has characterized him so much to date since his arrival on the Barcelona bench. “There are positive points. “We have not lowered our arms,” he noted. The praise this time only went to Sergi Roberto, architect of the victory with two goals, whom he defined as “an example”, “a captain with capital letters”.
“We arrived just, with injuries and fatigue. The Christmas break will go well for us,” concluded Xavi before taking the plane for the friendly in Dallas.
