The FC Barcelona director of football has analysed the state of the team following the defeat to Betis and what he wants is an immediate reaction.
In an interview on the ‘Gol a gol' programme on TV3, the director of football spoke about the
situation regarding the team following the 2-0 defeat in Seville. Txiki Begiristain made his
message clear, saying “Rijkaard has not left his job in the hands of the board and his
position does not depend on what happens on Tuesday. But we have told the team that we want to see
an immediate reaction on the field. We need sacrifice and solidarity from the players”, he
reiterated before later adding that “there is a mood of reflection and analysis in the squad.
I understand that people don’t want to hear words, they want to see a reaction.”
But Txiki also made it clear that “there is no crisis. That is what happens when you
are incapable of doing anything and I don’t see that. The team has shown it can overcome
difficult situations like the Cup games in which we were able to defend a result.”
The future
When there are still two months left of the present season, Txiki Begiristain was asked what
plans had been made for the next. He replied that “I am convinced of our project for next
season. It will be a winning project. The board has always made an effort to give us what we ask
for. I don’t like speaking about cleanouts. You have to evaluate the performances and the
progression and build a strong squad that is keen to win everything.”
The way forward
All of the problems boil down to what happened in the second half on Saturday. “The
team touched the sky in the first half and then showed its failings after the break. We saw that
they were unable to respond to the setback. There was a feeling of a lack of control and allowing
things to take their course.
”But from now on we need to get all of the players heading in the same direction. We
have to think more about the players we do have than the ones we don’t.”
The league
Barça had wanted to put more pressure on the league leaders, but instead slid below
Villarreal in the table. Txiki Begiristain admits that “it hurts to look at the table”,
but also recognises that “Villarreal is the most regular team. I don’t know which is
more irregular, us or Real Madrid, but the team that wins the league will be the most regular of
the three.”
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On to the Champions League
There is no time for lamentations. Barça have to get straight back to work as they prepare to face
Schalke 04 in the Champions League. “Now is the time to present arguments that can make
decisions. We are going into the Champions League quarter finals and we need to transmit
security” said Txiki, who optimistically added that “we have a good enough team to win
the Champions League. I saw that in the first half at the Ruiz de Lopera. The team is aggressive,
mobile and has a collective spirit”.