04.04.2007 14:11
“Whoever withstands the pressure best will be champion”
Barça, Sevilla, Real Madrid or Valencia. With just ten matches left to go in La Liga, these four teams are all in with a chance of lifting the league title and, according to Xavi Hernández, it’s all about keeping your nerve.
With 56 points and a two-point lead over second placed Sevilla, Xavi knows that Barça depend on
nobody but themselves to take a third consecutive league title. However, with Real Madrid and
Valencia just five and six points behind respectively, he believes a major factor will be nerves:
“Whoever withstands the pressure best will be champion”.
Xavi also reminded reporters at today’s press conference that, unlike Barça, our three
main rivals will all have to play each: “Whoever withstands the pressure best over the next
four or five matches will have gained a lot of ground”.
Sevilla the main danger
According to Xavi, the main obstacle in the run-in for the
league title is Sevilla: “They’re the closest team to us [and] they’re in the
best form”. However, he also stressed that the players could not afford to take their eyes
off the other two: “The teams below Sevilla are also very close”.
Zaragoza v Barça
Barça’s first match of the league run-in is Saturday’s clash with Zaragoza in the
Romareda Stadium: “Zaragoza has some great players in their squad, such as Sergio Garcia,
Milito, de Alessandro and Aimar, all of them top class players. We’ve also got a great
squad”. All in all, Xavi is convinced that with so much footballing talent on display,
Saturday’s match will be “very attractive”.
League and Cup double
Asked about the transfer rumours flying around, as always, at
this stage of the season, Xavi was explicit: “We can’t do anything. It’s
something that happens every year. I suppose the coaching staff are already working on this but
it’s our job as players to focus on winning the two titles we have at stake, that is the
league and the Cup. Possible signings won’t do that for us this season”.