Barcelona and I know that the only thing we can do is get the best out of it. “
The Dutch coach, who acknowledged that Leo’s absence is “important”, warned that Eibar will not be an easy rival and hoped to end the year in the best way, in addition to revealing that he is already working with Ramon Planes on a list of possible victims of the labor force who should be convicted with the arrival of the new president.
These were the most remarkable phrases of the Barcelona coach’s press conference:
Eibar
“It’s a competitive team that is trying to put a lot of pressure on the opposite side. In terms of football, we’re going to have to be good, like in the last game, when we found the space, to avoid it being too complicated.”
MESS
“He had discomfort in his ankle and therefore could not train or be fit for tomorrow. That is why he offered him more holidays, because the doctor told us that being a week without training will be enough for to return to well-being “.
“Not having Messi is always a major loss due to his quality and effectiveness; we lose a great player, but it is not a system for him, he is part of a system and we have enough players who can play in his position and the same and, hopefully, get the same effectiveness. “
“I didn’t see the interview live, but I saw what appeared in the press. I think it’s good to do an interview to find out his opinions and in his case I’m just as calm, because he said he will decide the future at the end of the season. I can’t influence, what we can do is get their best performance in games and we’ll see what can happen later. “
“In my last years as a footballer, I was thinking about what I would like to do later. If you can’t continue as a player, the closest thing is to be a coach, but everything that goes with that person. If Leo said he sees more As a sporting director, it’s very good for Barça that when he stops playing, he continues to work at the club, because he has an excellent experience and can help the rest of the club. In what position he is, it is not my decision. “
“I appreciate his words because he is a very important player for the club and in the world of football. Everyone likes to speak well of himself. It is a year of transition and what I am trying to do is to advance the team, we make changes in a year of transition and Leo is a key piece in the team. “
“But PSG and Pochettino? I don’t know … I can’t comment or say because his name is in the press, but I don’t know if it’s true. We’ll face each other in two months and we don’t have to be calm or anxious now. I think Let Leo decide his future based on a coach or a country. These are decisions that need to be made as a family, and I don’t think a coach can influence his destiny. “
Dembele
“It’s good. We won’t give the list until tomorrow after the last training session, but Ousmane is fine. He trains with the team for days and it worked well when I was in Valladolid. As I said, he will basically be called up tomorrow.”
Pedram
“What I saw about Pedri, about knowing his character and personality, is an example of how someone has to accept the problem of being very good. Of course, no one would expect that. advice. Pedri is a boy from a very humble family, who knows what he needs to do to improve and doesn’t think he’s already there. It has a great future, but a wonderful future always exists when you continue to work as you have now. “
The system
“You can talk a lot about a system, but the most important thing is the energy and work of the players. Any system can be attacking, but it can also be very defensive; it always depends on the attitude of the team on the field, during the game.”
Signatures and cancellations
“We talk about things about the team where to improve, where there are players who don’t give many minutes or games to see what’s best for them. But it’s not final, so I don’t like to talk about individual cases. Our task is to prepare and when there is a president, it will have to be completed. “
· “The exits? The problem is to prepare and if there is something we like or if a young player should play minutes for half a year in another team, we talk to him first, because in the end each player has the decision if he wants to works or not. We offer advice to young or older players who, for whatever reason, do not have minutes. We hope that a week will be enough for what we want. “
The year 2020
“It was a quiet first year, being a coach can’t be compared to the role of coach in a club like Barça. Then I had heart problems, then Covid. In all respects it was a very tough year. Sports are in a a place where I would like to be for many years and I enjoy it … but it is also a complicated place because of the things we talked about. In all respects, I hope that next year we will be better on Covid and the club ” .