The head coach of Barcelona spoke about the personnel situation in the team and the mood for the champion of Ukraine, and also spoke warmly about Srna and Chigrinsky
Head coach Barcelona Xavi spoke to the press on the eve of the home match Champions League against Donetsk Shakhtar.
“This is the most important game for us, very important from the point of view of qualifying from the group. Three points tomorrow in the match against Shakhtar are key to our goal.”
“This is the Champions League, the biggest competition for clubs, and it is very important for us to take nine points out of nine. I don’t need to distract anyone from Saturday’s game against Real Madrid because the Champions League forces you to focus and switch to it.”
“We are focused on tomorrow’s game because it will not be easy. Shakhtar are a dynamic and strong team and I think they can create problems for us. We can’t lose focus.”
“The miner is in a difficult situation, uncomfortable, away from his families. If we talk only about football, they changed their coach, and now they have Darijo Srna, whom I know well and respect very much. There are quality players in the team, even if they are not very famous, they are technically very good.”
“I remember Dmitry Chigrinsky with warmth. It was not easy for him to adapt to the change in culture, and there was also a lot of competition within the company. But as a person he was magnificent.”
“I remain optimistic that some of the players [отсутствующих сегодня] will be ready for Saturday’s game.
“We have a lot of players out, but that’s no excuse. A team can compete, play good football and win. The style won’t change at all.”
“We will miss the suspended Gavi, especially against such a technically and physically good team as Shakhtar.”
On Wednesday, October 25, Barcelona will host Shakhtar in the third round of the Champions League. The match starts at 19:45 Kyiv time. The Blue Garnet squad for this game is missing seven injured players, led by Robert Lewandowski, as well as the suspended Gavi.
On Saturday, October 28, Barcelona will face El Clasico – it will play at home with Real Madrid in the Spanish Championship.
Shakhtar is in third place in Group H with three points. Barcelona leads the quartet with two wins in two matches.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ben Stock and I work in Athletistic as an author. My specialty is covering football news and other related topics. I have been writing for this website since the past 2 years, crafting compelling stories with the latest updates in the sports world. My articles have gained widespread appreciation amongst readers due to their accuracy and depth of research.
