Barça’s technical secretary Txiki Begiristain, has said that Wednesday’s game is the most important until now because it is one in which “things will be decided”. He is quite aware of the advantages associated to finishing top of the group.
FC Barcelona travel to Lisbon on Tuesday and before leaving, Txiki Begiristain spoke to the press
about the vital importance of the fixture against Sporting Clube, in which the leadership of Group
C is up for grabs.
Going for the top
“The games are now starting in which there are things to be played for” said the
technical secretary, who added that a win against Sporting Clube would mean that “the last
game [in the Champions League group stage] would be relaxed because we would not be obliged to
win”.
Good league form
He is also pleased with the way things are going for Barça in the
League, and was not disappointed by their performance against Getafe. “The tone, the
intensity and the football were good, especially the way we got better as things went on, both in
terms of the score and the play. The team reacted and that gives you a good feeling”.
No debate about Messi
The name of Leo Messi naturally came up, and Txiki made it clear that “He is the best
player in the world and he evidently has an influence and it’s better if he can play”
and also commented that the club hopes “he can play in 89 or 90% of the matches” but
“we have seen that the team can win without him, and even when he plays, we have still lost
matches”.
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Renewing Xavi’s contract
Txiki Begiristain is playing a central role in the negotiations with Xavi Hernández. There is no
doubting the quality of the player, but that does not mean it is a simple process. “He is a
great player and there are high hopes. It is not easy to settle contracts like these, because we
have to talk about years and amounts, and because what we want is a well-balanced squad.”