Xavi Hernandez talks about Barcelona’s possibilities
Xavi Hernandez has said that Barcelona will remain favourites for the La Liga title, despite improvements made by Real Madrid.
Barcelona currently holds the La Liga title, which was their second title in a row. Last year, there were a lot of improvements made by Real Madrid in their squad, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso. This year, further improvements have been made, as Jose Mourinho’s services have been hired. The Portuguese manager has strengthened his squad with the addition of Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria and Sami Khedira. Therefore, it is being widely speculated that Madrid might regain the La Liga title, but despite these speculations Barcelona remain the favourites.
However, Xavi Hernandez seemed confident of being labelled as the favourites. Xavi, who is the major driving force behind the Barcelona attack, believes that they remain ahead of their rivals despite the improvements made by them in their squad.
Xavi was also inquired about the weakening of Barcelona’s squad, as many players left this summer, and they were not adequately replaced by Pep Guardiola. Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez, Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic left Barcelona, so it was thought that Barcelona had weakened. However, Xavi did not seem disturbed by the players leaving Barcelona this summer. He said that although the squad is smaller but the players are really competitive and they are ready to play their part in the team’s success. He also said that Barcelona has a great youth academy, where many quality players are playing well and they will be ready to start for the first team in case their services are required.
Xavi did not seem troubled by the strength of other teams. He said that there might be more than 25 or 26 players in a squad, but many players are always overlooked by the manager. So, in fact the strength of the squad remains less than that is being portrayed. Xavi believed that there would be more advantages of a smaller squad, than the disadvantages. The midfielder also showed his desire to play alongside Javier Mascherano, who was signed by Barcelona in the closing days of the transfer window. Xavi believes that Mascherano would prove to be a great signing because he is a hard worker and will benefit the team.
Xavi has actually summed up the chances of Barcelona in a few lines. First, he is right in saying that a relatively smaller squad has more advantages. Actually, the players remain happy with their manager, as most of them get their chance to play for their team. In case of a bigger squad, for example Manchester City, the players remain unhappy and unsettled which in turn, affects their performance for the team.
Barcelona is actually better off letting go of some of their players. Maybe, Yaya Toure was a bad option to be removed from the team, but he has been replaced by Mascherano who is an equally good player. On the other hand, Henry and Ibrahimovic were more of a burden rather than a blessing for Guardiola. In the presence of David Villa, and with an improved Pedro, Barcelona have actually improved from last year.
Xavi is also right in saying that Barcelona remain the favourites. Real Madrid has improved their squad, but they are still far from being a complete unit. This problem was obvious as Madrid failed to get all three points in their opening match against Mallorca. So, there is still a long time before Madrid can be regarded as a force again.
The first round of La Liga matches has been played, while Champions League is only four days away. It is good for Barcelona that their players have confidence in their abilities which is very important for the future success of the team as well.
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