Xavi (2): "Guardiola is pure passion"

In interviews with Catalan sports papers El Mundo Deportivo and Sport, Barcelona midfielder Xavi (28), who can this evening play his 100th European game with Barcelona, also talked about the present.





How is Guardiola as a coach?
He's an enthusiatic man, he convinces you, he feels the game, he's pure passion, loves the game of football, he's methodical and precise and a perfectionist.

There are players who have been critizising Rijkaard while talking about Guardiola. Why didn't they talk about certain things before if they are that clear now?
Maye we lacked a little of certain things last season but we were certainly training well. It's just now that we see how we work these days that we realize thatwe could have been more autocritical. The freedom that the coach gave us was a good thing and it lead to succes but nowadays it's not an easy thing.

Now to the match against Shakhtar. The team cannot fail in Ukraine.
We know that. We'll try to get closer to the qualification with a win because we want to get things going after a good start. But we're aware that it won't be easy...

You already played there in 2004 and things didn't go well for the team.
We lost with 2-0. It's difficult to play there because it's cold and they sprinkle the pitch which makes the ball slip a lot. Besides, the team is agressive and physically very strong. The three points will be important for both teams since the two teams have won the first match. But we should prove that we're the favourites and win the game.

You have played a lot of games and competition but the Champions League is something different, right?
It is. It's special. It cannot be compared to any other competition. Every player wants to be there. It's like you're changing a chip and you want to give and show your best.

Who has been the player that gave you the hardest time in this competition?
I remember that when I played my first game against Chelsea I was closely marked by Chris Morris. Vialli, their coach at that time, had told him to be my shadow. And that's exactly what he was! He didn't let me breathe.

What are your future goals in the Champions League?
Mainly being able to keep on playing and winning more trophies. I also would like to play against new opponents so we can go to different places, although we don't have time for any tourism. We only know the stadiums and the airports.


This was the second and last part of this post. You can read the first part here