10.01.2011 16:42
Award down to the collective effort
Roger Bogunyà
Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Leo Messi gave a joint press conference this afternoon ahead of the FIFA Ballon D’Oro awards in Zurich and explained the prize one of them would receive was: “thanks to the whole collective”.
In front of a large and expectant media audience, the three Barça players, alongside manager Josep
Guardiola and Spain boss Vicente del Bosque, spoke of the importance of the whole team above any
individual merit, with Iniesta stressing: “on our own we are nothing”.
The third manager up for a FIFA award, José Mourinho, suffered a delay in his flight and was
unable to make the press conference.
Xavi: “we want to share the prize”
Xavi, Iniesta and Messi repeated again and again that the award was a recognition of
the work of the collective, especially of their Barça teammates: “we want to share the prize
– it’s an individual award, but we are here thanks to a collective effort. In my case,
I am very fortunate to be playing alongside the best players”, according to Xavi, whilst
Iniesta reckoned: “today is a day to recall many people who have helped us get here”.
Guardiola explains success
Josep Guardiola was asked why Barça had been so successful in this year’s
awards and he responded: “they are very good players; that’s the first thing. Then
they’ve had a stable and strong club with a lot of people working there. There are a lot of
coaches, delegates, presidents…… all of them have participated in this process”.
Vicente del Bosque also stressed the importance of La Masia as a model to emulate:
“there are five people sat here who are convinced of the value of home grown players.
What’s happening here is a great success for the academy and everybody is very satisfied with
that”.
A model to follow
Xavi believes Barça’s model is applicable elsewhere: “I think all the
academies in the world could use our methods. In Barcelona we work with youngsters from 9 or 10 and
instil the same concepts throughout their time at the club. Those are footballing ideas, but also
respect and good manners. For me it’s the best school in the world”.