Mueez Ajao
– Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has received the backing of club president Joan Laporta amid the team’s disappointing Champions League campaign.
– Barca face the prospect of being knocked out of the Champions League group stage for a second straight campaign after Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Inter Milan at Camp Nou.
– Speaking ahead of Sunday’s league Clasico at Real Madrid, Laporta said: “I would tell the fans to keep believing. We have a very good team that has to give us joy. They [the fans] have to support Xavi, and we will give that support to him.
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– “Xavi has shown that he is a man who knows the club and the system perfectly, apart from being an excellent person. Things will get better, and he will give us many successes.
– “We always talk. After the game I have a habit of talking to him. [After Wednesday’s game] I saw him sad and hurt. Xavi has a virtue that no one I’ve met has — he always sees the positive side. It’s something I’ve always liked.
– “I told him to move forward, not to think about the Champions League and focus on LaLiga.”
– Not progressing past the group stages of the Champions League and potentially dropping to the Europa League will have financial repercussions for Barca.
– “It will have an impact, but it won’t be of €30 million or €35m,” Laporta said. “We need to keep finding new sponsors and continue to compete in Europe, which also brings in revenue.”
– Laporta admitted he, like many others, had great expectations for Barca’s Champions League campaign after the club’s significant investment in the summer transfer window.
– “I didn’t expect to be like this at this point,” Laporta said. “The technical staff and the coach have done everything to be competitive.
– “The main aim is LaLiga as the group stage has become very complicated, but I prefer to speak when it is over.”
– Despite refereeing decisions that went against Barca in the Champions League, Laporta said the team only had themselves to blame.
– “We had a difficult group,” Laporta said. “The team is the first to know that Wednesday’s result was a shame.
– “I’m sad and angry that we didn’t win despite scoring three goals. We have to change the mindset and now with LaLiga, we have to keep fighting to be first. We have a squad and some very good players who have generated great expectations.”
– Barca are top of LaLiga, level on 22 points with Madrid heading into Sunday’s game at the Bernabeu.
– “The Champions League has dealt us a low blow, but we have to do the job and concentrate fully on LaLiga,” Laporta said.
– “We all had the hope of the Champions League. We are first in LaLiga and we play at the Bernabeu, which is a game we like to play.
– “El Clasico is always very important, because whoever wins comes out stronger and whoever loses comes out affected. I hope to be leaders at the end of the game. It will also serve to see the reaction capacity of the team. When we stumble, the most important thing is to get up. We aspire to [win] LaLiga.”
