Xavi from an
interview with The Tactical Room.
Quotes taken from ESPNFC, Barcastuff_ & BarcaNewsForum
- I think, in general, Barca became a bit complacent. I'm sure people thought: 'There's Puyol, Iniesta, Messi, Valdes, Pique, Pedro and Busquets are coming though. This is all going well. Surely every two years or so more players will come through, too.'
- But it's not like that, that's not how things work. I learned to play in La Masia, not in the first team. The academy coaches have to develop players, they have to teach. Winning the youth league doesn't matter. You have to form players at that age. If you win, good, but it's not the objective.
- The B team being in the second or third division doesn't matter. The main point is to develop players for a certain style of play. That's the priority.
- The first question is: How many players have the ability to play for the first team? Right now, the answer's not positive. The B team's objective is to have 6, 8, even 10 players with the potential to go straight into the first team. Not 2 or 3.
- The first team coach needs to rely on the full-back or the midfielder if players get injured. That's why there's an academy. And, in general, I think Barcelona have fallen asleep in that regard.
- I liked how Valverde's Athletic played. It's clear he didn't have Iniesta or MSN at Athletic, but they were a daring team
- (Valverde's Athletic) didn't bomb ball out of defense. His team pressed high, was aggressive & always made things difficult for us.
- Athletic beat us in Spanish Supercup. I think Barća will play very well under Valverde & we'd see the game we used to w/ Pep & Tito.
- Leaders of Barça dressing room are Iniesta, Busi, Leo, Mascherano & Pique. Valverde won't have a problem there. It's very healthy.
- Barça dressing room is full of good people. It has always been this way, beyond the normal small issues that can arise in a group.
- Barça dressing room is a good place, w/ winners, players who want to train & aren't lazy. They've been winning trophies for a decade
- Barça players are still hungry and want to keep winning regardless of how many titles they have or how many Ballon d'Ors Messi has.