20.06.2007 13:52
Ringing The Changes
Sandra Sarmiento/Sergi Nogueras
Txiki Begiristain has spoken openly to the media during the club's trip to South Africa about the changes to the squad that will be made over the summer to allow the team to continue challenging at the top.
With work already underway on remoulding the playing staff for next season, the Barça technical
secretary gave his views on the work that he has ahead of him. "When you in the process of forming
a new team is easier than when you are renewing the squad, because that is walays more
complicated," he said. "We are happy with the ideas that we have and we are convinced that we will
form a squad capable of playing for everything."
Begiristain does not see his work as something of a direct examination: "No, it is not an
examination," he continued. "I am part of a club that has mechanisms and a way of working and I
responsible for part of that. The examinations are sometimes the results and sometimes the style
and way of working, more than just a one-off performance."
Past And Future
After seeing the title slip by, the technical secretary
described his thouts on the season that has just finished: "Disappointment," he stated. "That is
what we feel after seeing a team with so much quality come so close, but in the end were not able
to achieve the things that we had hoped for. It is an enormous disappointment."
Looking ahead to what the supporters can expect, Begiristain gave assurances that the team
will not repeat some their performances next season. "The quality was there. We have not finished
sixth and been knocked out of the cup early on. We were fighting for both domestic titles until the
final month of the season and it was not about quality that we did not win anything, it was more
about how we approached things, a question of mentality and state of mind."
Assuming Responsibility
After Joan Laporta's press conference on Tuesday, Begiristain reaffirmed the president's
views: "What we agree on is that the team is capable of much more," he continued. "I think that the
responsibility is everybody's and we have to be doing things right every day, little by little. If
everyone keeps training well then things are fine, but if that drops off at all then when Sunday
comes around you can see it and, although we noticed a slight drop in the level of performance on
occasion, it did not really affect the outcome of the league. I think that when
Laporta
talks about commitment he means things that the club can do and what I mean is the commitment
of every player. To be a little rigorous, one has to know what everyone is capable of and what they
are not.
"I assume total responsibility because we are talking about the management. My responsinility
is the coaching staff and the players. There is a step in between, which is the responsibility of
the coaches for the players, but I have to know how everything is going and when the players are
not playing well and for my part there has been a lack of reaction to that, which i fully assume."
Refreshing Change
"The feeling that everyone has when a season starts is that
the team can win things again," Begiristain continued. "It is not just about winning the trophies
it is also about winning well because of the quality that we have. What happens then is that we are
responsible for the management of the team, we have spent a lot of time watching from Sunday to
Sunday and can see how each game ends. We were top of the table and reached the First Knockout
Round of the Champions League and there was always a chance of winning things this season. What was
a problem was going week to week. After every game we had to ensure that we were still first and
that we had played well.
"What happens afterwards is that when we needed to bounce back it was too late. That was the
problem. We have to ensure that we do not go week to week and go more day by day and be more
rigorous in training. How can we improve our quality? We need more knowledge and control over what
everyone is capable of."
Weel By Week
"We have created a relaxed state," he explained. "It was not adequate and we could not always
compete. I am responsible for the football side of things and I assume that completely, but I am
also thrilled that, together with the coaches, we can correct these things and create a new team
and introduce new mechanisms to ensure that the players are at their best and that will mean that
we continue to fight for trophies. We have to be more rigorous."