Xavi: "I pass and I move, I help you, I look for you"

Barcelona player Xavi gave an interview to Catalan newspaper El Periódico.





You are nominated for the 'Catalan of the year' trophy. Wouldn't it be strange to win that trophy thanks to shining in the shirt of Spain?
Well, excuse me, but I think that would only make it more beautiful, no? I think that there cannot be more diversity than that. I'm feeling Catalan through and through but, at this moment, I don't know any other way to win the European championships than by playing for Spain.

You know that, at this moment, a lot of people have already casted their vote.
I saw the list of nominees and the truth is that it's impressive. I think that winning the Euro, a very important trophy that Spanish football needed really badly, has been the break-through of a generation of excellent players. Believe me, playing with Puyol, Iniesta, Torres, Silva, Villa and many others is a real joy.

It was a great victory.
Extremely beautiful. The football we played was very nice to watch, not only because we played in an attacking way, but also because of the idea behind it. We became champions with a game based on passing and talent. Luis likes to play like Cruijff. There's more, the national team has seven or eight players "made in La Masia".

What is that so much talked about Barça DNA that everyone is envious of?
If you want to enjoy football, you have to love the ball. You can win by not liking the ball, true, but then you forget to enjoy, you and the others. 'With what do we defend?', Cruijff asked himself. 'With the ball', he answered. If you have the ball, you can play like you want to play. The one who has the ball, is the master of the game.

And once you have it, once it's yours, you can pass, pass, pass.
Yes, but with a plan. Quick passes, using the space, triangles, double passes, depth, pausing, rhythm, I pass and I move, I help you, I look for you, I stop, I raise my head, I look and, above all, I open up the pitch. Cruijff always said: 'If you put Pele and Maradona in a phone booth, you don't have to worry because they won't even make a double pass'. If you make the pitch wide, even the most clumsy one can make a double pass, or two. That's the school of Joan Vilà, of Albert Benaiges, of Johan Cruijff, of Pep Guardiola.

And you love the ball, you're dying to have it, for it to come your way.
On Saturday, I sometimes go and watch my friends of Natació Terrassa and I sit in the stands with Elsa, my girlfriend. From my seat, I'm hoping the ball will bounce an come my way. I'm a fanatic, I admit it. I don't know if I should be punished for that sin.

Joaquim, your father, still doesn't understand why you didn't want to go to AC Milan.
Father knows and understands that I couldn't go there. I'm born to play at Barça. Father tried to open my eyes. 'Pep is there, you're having a myth before you'. And mother said to him: 'Joaquim, Xavi has to stay with Barça. Can't you see that?'. You see which kind of discussions they had. I talked with Zaccheroni, the coach, and even with Galliani, the one who's in command. But I made the right choice to stay. I had been given birth for Barça. And mother knew that, of course.

I hear that your brothers Oscar and Alex still didn't forgive you that you left them without bread.
I know, I know. When I came back from school, I had to go and buy bread every day. Mother gave me money for four pieces and I went to the market place to buy it. But I always stopped to play football and the bakery was always closed when I arrived there.

Is it true that your sister Ariadna has dribbled you a lot during your youth?
True, true. We have almost the same age and we played together. She has the left foot of Messi. I always picked her for my team and the others always laughed with me. 'How can you pick her, that's a girl!', they said, but we trashed them several times...

Elsa, your girlfriend, has asked me to tell you that not everything is football, football.
Elsa is the one who keeps my feet on the ground, who keeps me connected with the reality, she opens my mind, she helps me to see that not everything is football. She's my sweetheart. And she knows it.

My boss has asked me to ask you about the crisis of Barça.
Crisis? We're in the beginning of March and you know how many games we have played? 42. 42! You know how many games Valladolid has played? 29. 29! You know how many games they will play in the whole season? 42. 42! With still three months to go before the end of the season, we have already played the same number of games that 80 per cent of the teams will play in the whole season. I think that's something you should keep in mind, no? Tell your boss that he can stay calm. Hopefully every crisis could be like this one!


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