FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.06.2007 14:20

“Now we have to be self-critical”

Jordi Clos

Xavi Hernández told reporters on Monday that the season had been disappointing and that the team had paid the price of overconfidence. However, he insisted that the current squad had plenty of life left in it yet.

With a serious face and making no excuses, Xavi Hernández appeared before reporters on Monday morning to analyses the season: “Now we have to self-critical. It’s been a bad year”. However, he insisted that it was not the end of a cycle.

The league

Xavi made no attempt to hide the players’ mistakes: “We’ve practically thrown away the league and our great rival has taken advantage of that”. He called on everyone at the club to reflect on what had happened: “Things don’t happen for no reason at all and we have to be aware of what’s happened”.

Missed chances

“We had all the titles within reach but we didn’t know how to make use of advantageous situations. The team paid the price for over confidence and football has given us a lesson we have to learn from”. However, he denied it was down to a lack of commitment. “The main fault is with the players. We weren’t up to the job”. But he stressed the united front in the squad: “It’s a footballing problem but the squad has always been fully united”.

Faith in the team

Despite his negative analysis of the season, Xavi retains complete faith in the current squad and denied it was the end of a cycle. “We had a fantastic team. The best I’ve ever played in. For me it would be a mistake to make a revolution but that’s a subject for Txiki, the manager and the president. There’s a fantastic, young group, which is capable of winning more titles”.

Looking ahead

Xavi is already looking to the future and is determined to win more silverware next season: “You always get another chance in football. We can’t allow ourselves another year like this one”.