Xavi says his Barca project is halfway through

Coach from Barcelona, ​​Xavi Hernandez, he said on the eve of the confrontation with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions LeagueWe assume that his project with Barca’s team is still “halfway”.

When two years have passed since his arrival on the bench of the Spanish team, XaviI assessed his work so far: “I think the summary of these two years is positive and we are halfway there. We have to bring back the excellence in terms of the game in order to regain Barça big, especially in Europe, and to continue competing in local competitions, which we already do today.

In the press room in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion, coach Terrasse He argued that making Barcelona once again hegemonic in European football involved restoring its “identity”.

“We need to have more control over the game, and that means recovering from the pressure after the defeat. Using more aggressive high pressing, with more intensity and more conviction. We need to recover from tomorrow, because it is crucial to recover good results “sensations and winning games” , he thought.

In the match against Shakhtar, XavI see a “fantastic opportunity” not only to mathematically secure a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League – “which was our first goal”, he recalled – but also to go first in the group. “We have it in our hands,” he emphasized.

In this sense, the coach of Barcelona He stressed that the team had done “their homework” in ‘champions this season: “We have nine points out of nine and we have to confirm that tomorrow.”

In Hamburg, where Skhahtar Donetsk play home matches in Champions League to because of the war with Russia, Joao Cancelor he will return to the position of right back after two games -against Real Madrid and the Royal Societyity- in which he advanced his position.

“Cancelo will play 80 or 90% of the games on the wing, both left and right. It was a tactical question in the last games to start with three. So he will return to his natural position” This is where he and I feel more like him as a coach, he asserted.

After the last half hour played in Reale Arena vs Real Sociedad in the championshipPedri could have more prominence at the Volksparkstadion, as Xavi considers it essential.

“When Pedri has him, things happen. Everything improves,” said the Catalan coach, who regretted that injuries “prevented him from enjoying” football as much as the Canarian would have liked.

Asked if he signs the victory on Shakhtar playing poorly and inferior to the opponent, as happened this Sunday against Real Sociedad, Xavi He assured that “that is not the goal”.

We have to return to the recognizable team we were in the classic, said the coach Barcelona, who, however, warned that in today’s football it is not possible to “win every game with overwhelming power”.

“It’s a perfect movie, but I can tell you that it won’t happen, because rivals are also playing and there are a lot of matches that get very complicated. But we have to return to that dynamic of creating an ideal scenario, and for that we have to be humble, diligent and intense in game,” he said.