Zapping World Eleven EXCLUDED: Jonathan Clauss’ “Little Brother” interview!
Tomorrow evening, FC Barcelona will travel to Atlético Madrid with the firm intention of pocketing the three points to consolidate their place as leader. The opportunity for Xavi Hernandez to appear at a press conference where he notably mentioned the absences of Robert Lewandowski and Jordi Alba as well as the winter transfer window in remarks reported by Mundo Deportivo.
On the absences of Lewandowski and Alba
“We have two important absences: that of Jordi and that of Robert. We have tried several options and you will see it tomorrow. There are several profiles. We have a lot of options in attack. We are adapting a bit to the opponent to attack and defend better, but above all to win the match.”
If the game against Atlético is a shock
“Every week, that’s it. The next game is the most important. It won’t decide anything, but it would be a big blow to win. It’s a complicated ground and they are very strong defensively. It will be difficult for us to generate a lot of things and we have to be more effective than in the last two games. It’s not a decisive game for the future of La Liga.”
On Atletico Madrid
“I expect a very well organized team. Normally they use a 5-3-2 or a 4-4-2, it’s a chameleon team. We have to be prepared for Atlético to run into us .”
On the transfer window
“If we don’t touch anything, perfect. We will compete with what we have.”
On the lack of efficiency
“It’s more of a mental issue. We dominated and created chances but we have to kill games. We have to be more powerful in the zones. We are far superior to our rivals but we have occasional mistakes. “Espanyol, we lacked aggression in the opposing area and we lacked efficiency. Against Intercity it was different. We conceded three goals and that can’t happen. We have to be more aggressive. La Liga, we are more calm and in other competitions it costs us more. In knockout competitions, for a detail, you are eliminated.”
On Ceuta, future opponent in the King’s Cup
“Tomorrow we have a very important game, in a very complicated stadium. We are going to compete and be protagonists. We have to be more efficient and be ourselves. The game was good, but we have to be more efficient. We have lucky in the draw with Ceuta, we had the less complicated rival on paper, but then we have to prove it. The other day Intercity put us on the ropes.”
On a possible lack of leadership
“We have them (the leaders). Sometimes it is not necessary to raise your voice. Iniesta did not raise his voice, but he was a leader. There is always someone who expresses it with his voice and others with personality. We have several profiles. There is no personality or leadership problem. Everyone knows their role in the team and that’s not the problem.”
On individual errors
“In the end, we all fail. We try to give them confidence not to make mistakes, but football is a game of mistakes. We have to minimize them to win. Against Intercity, we put ourselves in trouble.”
On Griezmann
“I don’t know the situation he’s had here. He’s an important player for Atlético de Madrid. He touches the ball on the last pass and is very important for Cholo. He makes the difference in the final third and he is an important player for the rival.”
About Araujo
“Ronald’s role is going to be very important. He’s a central defender who corrects a lot of things. He’s a first-class central defender. The conversations with Diego Alonso (Uruguay coach, editor’s note) were very clear and we stayed true to the player’s feelings. The important thing is that he is one hundred percent. He has accumulated 60 minutes at a high level.”
On the future of Busquets
“I don’t know. It will depend a bit on feelings and Financial Fair Play. Hopefully he puts in some really big performances until the end of the season, which he always has. He’s captain of the team and still has six months left on his contract. In June, we’ll see.”
