Xavi Hernández, a member of the best Barça in history and the golden era of the Spanish team, did not take responsibility for Luis de la Fuente's management of Gavi's right knee injury, which has said goodbye to the season. The Barcelona coach points in another direction: to the overexploitation of international players who suffer from a very saturated calendar. “There is no controversy or any problem with the selection. It is a problem of calendar and excess of games,” reasoned the Barcelona coach.
“I have a very good relationship with De la Fuente. The coach called me on Tuesday,” he revealed. “I don't see it as a problem of the coach's management, but rather a problem of calendar, minutes and games. At 19 years old, Gavi has played a lot. Breaking your cruciate is also a matter of misfortune,” added the man from Terrassa, who now loses a capital player for the entire season.
“Unfortunately Gavi's loss is very important for us. It is irreplaceable. For the heart, the desire, the passion, the courage that he puts in,” he praised the Andalusian midfielder, according to Xavi, a gifted man. “I have seen very few, almost none, with the winning character that Gavi has. We have to put that spirit of Gavi on the field from now on,” he prescribed, as the best tribute.
Xavi himself suffered torn knee ligaments at the end of 2005 and knows how hard it is. “I have spoken with him. I had the personal experience and I think he made me a better, more mature footballer. From there I understood that he had to be more professional, if possible. Take care of myself and do prevention. Knee recovery is always difficult. It is very important not to skip any recovery sessions,” he advised his pupil.
It is not the first time that the coach slips into bringing together national team matches as a solution. “I think FIFA is already considering it. It would be nine months with the club and then a month with the national team, and then the holidays. This would save 13-hour trips, for example like Araújo and Raphinha,” he noted.
Regarding possible substitutes or the arrival in January of Vitor Roque, he did not want to reveal anything. “There is nothing to announce yet. I am in contact with the president and with Deco. They know my position and we will seek a consensus but we lose a player for the entire season,” he recalled, because the squad, which had 19 first team players, was already short.
These 13 days without games, Xavi recovers Frenkie de Jong but, in addition to Gavi, he has also lost Ter Stegen, suffering from lower back discomfort that prevented him from lining up with Germany. “Iñaki Peña will play. I have absolute confidence in him. He is a great professional and always trains very well,” he added.
After coming back against Alavés, Xavi focused on the excessive criticism of his players by the press. “I said what I thought. During the Alavés half-time I realized that they were affected by external criticism. I told them to free themselves that all the pressure here is on me. At no time did I use it as an excuse for bad play. No way,” he explained.
Finally, the coach considered Lewandowski's rudeness to Lamine Yamal, who was ignored by the youth player who wanted to apologize in the Barça-Alavés match, as a normal football incident. "It's natural. It has happened to me. Look for my quarrels with Puyol and Valdés. I remember with Víctor in Almería. It's football and we all want to win. It happens in all jobs. “Robert is very aware of Lamine Yamal so that he can be a great footballer,” he concluded.
