Spain Before the fourth round of the Champions League group stage, coach Xavi said that he and his students have gone halfway on the journey to regain the club's former glory.
"We are halfway to restoring a great Barca," Xavi told Mundo Deportivo on November 6. "The results so far are positive. I am happy, but we are halfway to achieving complete success. It is a Barca that is strong in Europe and continues to compete in domestic competitions."
Xavi also recalled the time when he took charge of Barca in November 2021, when the team was deep in crisis. In his first season, he took Barca from ninth place to second in La Liga. The following season, he won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. "Now, we have to aim for excellence," Xavi added.
Xavi directs Barca's 1-0 win over Sociedad in round 12 of La Liga on November 4, at Anoeta Stadium. Photo: Socrates
However, the 43-year-old coach also admitted that Barca still lacked the intensity needed to become a top team. In addition, the reigning La Liga champions are also inferior to Real Madrid in terms of overall quality, which led to their 1-2 defeat in El Clasico on October 28.
In the last two matches, Xavi has moved right-back Joao Cancelo forward. He explained that he wanted to strengthen the defense against Real Madrid and Sociedad. When necessary, he will bring Cancelo back to his usual position.
On the evening of November 7, in the fourth round of Group H of the Champions League, Barca will visit Volkspark Stadium (Germany), where Shakhtar Donetsk uses its home field while it cannot play in Ukraine. Barca is leading the group with nine absolute points. Meanwhile, FC Porto is in second place with six points, Shakhtar is in third place with three points, and Royal Antwerp has no points. If they win at Volkspark Stadium, Barca will secure a ticket to the round of 16 two matches early.
"As I said, the first target is to reach the round of 16, and the second target is to win the group," said Xavi. "Everything is within our reach and the next match is a very good opportunity for us to do that."
As a player, Xavi won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Barca. He also won Euro 2008, 2012 and the 2010 World Cup with Spain. As a coach, Xavi won a Qatar championship and two Qatar Cups with Al Sadd. Last season, he led Barca back to the top of Spain's La Liga for the first time since 2019. This season, Barca are third in La Liga after 12 games, with 27 points, four points behind leaders Girona. Real Madrid are second with 29 points.
The last time Barca won the Champions League was in the 2014-2015 season. That was also the last season Xavi played in Europe. Between 2004-2019, Barca won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.
Thanh Quy (according to Mundo Deportivo )
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