25.10.2007 18:35
"We hope to have the injured players back"
Miriam Nadal
Xavi Hernández highlighted the lengthy injury list at FC Barcelona as a problem for the team and also reflected on the goalless draw against Rangers in the Champions League in midweek.
The Catalan playmaker spoke to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat and explained why he thought that
the Blaugrana were suffering due to the number of absentees there currently are in midfield and
outlined how the coach and the players were doing their best to overcome this. "Yes, we have had
some misfortune as there are quite a few injured player, both in midfield and in defence," he said.
"People are talking about the midfielders more, like Deco and Touré Yaya, because there are
not so many to replace them in the squad. The coach is trying to build a team despite these
injuries though. We have just drawn with Rangers in Glasgow and now we hope that they can return as
soon as possible. It appears that Touré could be available again this weekend."
We deserved to win
Loking back on the Champions League encounter with Rangers, Xavi recognised that Barça were
not happy with the result: "At first it may not appear such a bad result, but we deserved to win,"
he explained. "We did not have many clear chances, maybe two or three. Maybe Ronaldinho should have
had a penalty, but they were a very difficult team to play against. They allowed us to have
possession and then defended in numbers. It was a very tough game. Despite that, in the Champions
League a draw is not a bad result."
Looking ahead to the game against Almería, Xavi thinks winning is paramount. "Although they
are having a good season, we have to take the three points," he concluded.