Barcelona head coach, Xavi Hernandez has expressed mixed feelings about his team being seen as favorite in the Champions League group C.
Barcelona is paired alongside Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, Italian giants Inter Milan as well as Viktoria Plzen.
Speaking yesterday ahead of his side’s group opener against Plzen, Xavi said his team aims to control the possession as well as win the game.
He also provided update about some of his players.
Xavi: “We play against a strong team. This is the Champions League and we want to start in the best way possible. We got a tough group but we’re excited.”
“I have a good team but the players must show their quality. I can say I have the best team and then lose tomorrow. You can ask me at the end of the season if I have the best team in the world.”
“There will be rotations for the game. We have a lot of players and there was fatigue after the war in the Sevilla game.”
“We want to keep increasing our level and the results will judge our success. I’m happy with our progression.”
“I’ve learned a lot from Guardiola and Enrique. I consider them in the top 5 coaches in the world. We want to play with possession but when the rival gives us space, we must take advantage of it, like Henry’s goal against Madrid in the 6-2.”
“We will compete and we dream of it. If I didn’t want to win it, I’d stay at home. It’s hard to say if we are favourites because last season we were in the Europa League but this season we’re not. We must remain humble.”
“There are new players and have to train a bit more to be physically ready. They’ll be with us for the next La Liga game.”
“I may have influenced dembélé a bit, but he was always eager to play from day one. I am not responsible for changing his mindset. He did that himself.”
“It’s hard to talk about all the problems in the Bayern and Liverpool matches. But we must not repeat them again. Let’s start with beating Viktoria Plzen.”
“Pjanić has decided to leave for more opportunities and minutes, he’s been very professional.”
