Xavi Hernandez said he agreed with Ilkay Gundogan after the midfielder criticized Barcelona players for not showing enough anger or emotion after last week’s defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico.
Two goals from Jude Bellingham , including the decisive goal in the 90+2 minute, canceled out Gundogan’s opener in El Clasico. After the match, the former Man.City star revealed about the dressing room when he said he expected his teammates to be “more disappointed and angry”. Even the German midfielder, who came to Barca on a free transfer as European champion, harshly said that he “did not come here to lose in that way”.
Gundogan ‘s comments attracted attention in Spain and beyond, but coach Xavi said it did not create any controversy within the team: “Accepting defeat is not part of Barcelona’s DNA . There is a high demand for excellence and winning here. Gundogan’s interview was about the dressing room, he expressed his opinion rather than an argument, so there was no problem. We agree with Gundogan and don’t see any problems. We lost El Clasico because of mistakes. There is a lack of focus and we lose connection.”
“This is just a small problem,” coach Xavi added on La Liga TV. “He did that because his culture is probably different from ours. He expressed the anger we all felt. We also think like Gundogan. There has to be more emotion, especially when you lose and when you know you can perform better, do better in certain situations where you don’t react.”
Coach Xavi Hernandez called on the players to quickly learn from the defeat in El Clasico.
Coach Xavi Hernandez called on the players to quickly learn from the defeat in El Clasico.
Barca will travel to fifth-placed Real Sociedad on Saturday, where they will look to return to winning ways after falling to fourth place and four points behind leaders Real Madrid and Girona. Barca is still without midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto due to injury, but midfielder Pedri returned to play after 2 months. Coach Xavi called on his players to learn from the El Clasico defeat: “It feels angry to lose in such a way. We controlled the match and played well. We lost a match we had in hand. But nothing is lost yet and at least it’s not a Champions League knockout match. We can learn lessons, we are only 4 points behind the top team and still have time to make up for our mistakes.”
“We now have a real high-level test on Saturday against a Champions League level opponent. La Real does everything well in defense and attack and they play with high intensity. Imanol Alguacil is one of the best coaches in La Liga. He has his team and is playing good football. For us, after losing to Real Madrid, the whole team increased their training this week. Now we have to go out and show that we can react.”
In another development. UEFA has just announced the rejection of Barca’s appeal against a fine of 500,000 euros for violating the provisions of Financial Fair Play (FFP). UEFA’s Club Financial Control Authority said Barca incorrectly reported that in the 2022 financial year, profits from the disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers) were not relevant income according to regulations.”
