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”.