"Coaching Barca is to enjoy a little and suffer a lot"

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez is ready for the clash against Mallorca. The coach sat down in the press room to answer questions from journalists.

He admitted that, although he has said he will leave at the end of the season, he feels "maximum pressure". "Coaching Barca is like that. Ancelotti said he didn't enjoy it so much.... And it's that you enjoy little and suffer a lot", he analysed.

He said that he does not consider La Liga to be lost, although it will be difficult to win it: "Until it is mathematically impossible, we will continue to believe. The other day we had the chance and it was a shame, but against Mallorca we have another chance to put ourselves in second place and put pressure on the leaders".

On the XI he will field, considering that Barca have the Champions League clash against Napoli ahead of them, he said he will make "some changes".  "More than thinking about Tuesday, we will think about the player, his fatigue, the accumulation of minutes, just that, not for Tuesday's game. We have to think about the player," he explained.

As for Barca's opponents in La Liga on this occasion, Mallorca, he wanted first of all to "congratulate them because they are having a great season and Aguirre prepares his teams very well". "He is doing very well. They are very tough and united. It will be difficult, but our confidence is great", he continued.

He also referred to Pedri's latest injury: "We do it impeccably, especially with Pedri. There are uncontrollable things. He has to think that this is the last injury and he has to trust in that. It's not as serious as we thought and he's not the first player to suffer from it. It's not easy to manage and he has to be positive, convince himself that he will be fine".

He refused to assess the possibility of Luis Enrique succeeding him as Barca coach. "I don't talk about future coaches. We are focused on Mallorca and I shouldn't talk about that. I have to focus on our next opponents, who have just beaten Girona and eliminated Real Sociedad.

Nor did he want to assess the controversy regarding Real Madrid's refereeing videos for which the Federation has sentenced Real Madrid: "I've already assessed it and you know what I think, don't insist".

Finally, he admitted that if Barca get 34 shots at them, as happened to the 'Merengues' in their last game against RB Leipzig, "the normal thing" is that they lose. "We have also won games without deserving it, that's the greatness of football. Whoever plays better doesn't always win," he concluded.

 

March 7, 2024