Keita: "I have to get better to contribute something"

Barcelona player Seydou Keita gave an interview to Spanish weekly sports paper Don Balón.





Seydou , how did you feel when you found out that Barca would pay the release clause that you had with Sevilla?
I felt happy. I saw that the work that I had done in the last few years, and above all during my year at Sevilla, had borne fruit. It is very good to be here, but the most difficult thing is to maintain myself at this level. So I was content when I signed for Barca, but I have to be even better now in order to contribute something. That which is the most difficult and the most important is still to be done.

This is what you have been doing this season?
Collectively, yes. I am very happy with what I have done at the club since I arrived, although I have suffered two injuries that have reduced my playing time. But, nevertheless, I have contributed a little to the team.

When you went to Sevilla you said that if you could not leave your mark on the team then you would leave. Did you think the same thing when you signed for Barca this summer?
Yes, but this is normal. When you move to a new club it is to contribute something. It is the same in all jobs, like it happens to you journalists: when you change your job it is to be better, to try to get the interview before the others (he laughs), it is always so. What’s more is that you are among colleagues and when you see that one of them has done something good, you have the desire to do something at least similar. We all want to contribute something in our own way.

Your teammate, Eric Abidal, said recently that this Barca is the best team he had ever seen. Do you share this view?
You know, it has always been difficult for me to talk about oneself. So far, things are going very well but what is important is what happens at the end of the season. Will we be the league champions? Will we lift the Copa? Will we win the Champions League? This is what matters in big teams like Barca, and it is on these things, that journalists like you, will judge us at the end of the season (smiling).

Regarding the game, are you having a great time?
Yes, it's a pleasure to see Barca play. When I was in Sevilla, or in other clubs where I have played, I ran a lot and did the dirty work, but when I came here the coach and the others told me that the ball is the one who has to run. As a midfielder I was accustomed to running from one place to another, demanding the ball. With Barca this is not quite the case.

Explain this to us...
Here, each player is positioned in his area and circulates the ball. You have to wait until the ball comes to you in order to continue the movement, and it is not easy to be patient and position yourself well in the field. For me, this is the only difficult thing with Barca. When you adapt to it, everything follows. In the first few months I was running everywhere and the coach told me to be patient. Although you're not playing the ball this time, it will come and I will shoot. For the last few months everything is going perfectly.

And what do you think about the rotation system established by Guardiola? Would you like to play more?
Yes, of course, like everyone in the world. If I was the only one who was encountering this situation then I could ask for more playing time but this is not the case. In fact, in the game we played in Santander, Messi started on the bench. On other occasions it was others who were on the bench and in the future it will be others. When you're a football player at times you can be selfish because you want to play all the games, but with a team like Barca, with so many matches, so many trips and so many talented players, your physical form would be impaired if you were to compete in all the events. The coach can change the team, but we always win, so everything is going well. There is nothing to say.

On a different topic, Guardiola said that Xavi is essential. Do you also think that of the three midfielders, he has the greatest role?
Xavi brings a lot to the team, and above all, he is a footballer who knows this style of play because he has always been in this system. Iniesta, for example, changes position often and doesn’t have the same stability in the game as Xavi, who can only play in the position in which he does and that is his known role. I have occupied various positions and every footballer has to adapt themselves to do his job as best as possible, but for Xavi, it is always the same (smiling) and it’s normal.

In fact, you coincided with Xavi in the World cup under-20 of 1999, but it was you who was named best player of the tournament. Have you ever talked to him about it?
Yes, sometimes. The last time that we talked about it we realised that it had been nearly ten years since that World cup under-20. We talk about how time has passed so quickly and how so much has happened.

Tell me one thing, we journalists are incapable of guessing the line-up for Barca this season. Do the players also have this feeling or, more or less, are the able to guess who is going to play in each game match?
To guess? Frankly, it is not a guess. We always prepare to be ready to play. For example, the coach says that Xavi is essential and therefore he plays more than others but he is also part of the rotations. So it is difficult to hit on the correct starting line-up for each game.

Translated by: Andrew


This was the first part of this interview. The other parts will follow in the coming days.

Read more:
Keita: "One hour before we know who will play"
Agent Keita denies Marseille talks
Keita: "Every player should feel important"