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5:30
Xavi Hernández presented as Barcelona's new coach
The moment that all the Catalans were waiting for has finally arrived and with more than ten thousand fans present, the announcement of Xavi Hernández as Barcelona's new coach has taken place. The fans chanted his name when he stepped onto the Camp Nou pitch at around one-thirty in the afternoon.
The Spanish now Barcelona coach has signed his new contract on the pitch in company with the club president Joan Laporta. Said contract links him with Barça until June 30, 2024. Xavi Hernández could be seen very excited and with a smile at all times.
The former Al Sadd coach and former Barça player has pledged with the entire crowd to return the team to the place they have to be because "we are the best in the world." Minutes later, he would be giving his first words as Barcelona's new coach, commenting on the following:
"I arrive prepared enough, my Barcelona DNA has not changed. The idea of being the protagonist of having the ball at all times, creating chances, I want an intense Barça, we must recover many things." Thus, explaining a little of its objectives and trying to restore the illusion to the fans that need it so much.
His dream of training Barcelona
"This is a dream come true. In 2015 my greatest illusion was to return here, and now I return with the maximum responsibility, but with all the desire and enthusiasm. We need to work as hard as possible. I really want to start. I feel that Barça is my home, but I know that I have a great responsibility". Xavi explained and in turn added:
"I am aware that I am arriving at a very difficult time for the club, but I am prepared for this. My main objective is to help the Catalans to move forward again, enjoy and win. Both the illusion and the desire must help us to go forward".
"I am very grateful for all the affection that the fans give me, I hope to return all this illusion with titles or at least with a good job this first year. The objective is to play well and from there win the titles" added the Spaniard.
Xavi Hernández believes that he has an advantage that perhaps Koeman did not have "Knowing the club is an advantage for me, I know the environment. There will be intense moments, but we must be very united, and we must all row in the same direction. We must all be united so that Barça win titles again".
Discipline and order is what Xavi asks for
The now Barcelona coach recognizes that the work will be very hard, so he believes that discipline and order will be the most important : "The wear and tear will be tremendous for everyone, but I like challenges. The physical change will be very important, but I'm prepared. Enjoying these will be a goal".
I also reveal what will be your first message when entering the dressing room "The first message I will give you is that I am here to help you. For me, it is a great advantage to meet Busquets, Alba, Piqué, Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, who were my teammates. I see it as an advantage. It's not about being tough, but being able to help them".
"During my career as an athlete, when there have been rules in the dressing room, we have done well, and when it is not like that, we have not competed. It is not discipline, it is order" these were some of his explanations about how he worked in the dressing room.
The new Barça coach did not go in to assess the reasons for the bad moment of the team, but if I point to a key "I cannot speak of what I have not experienced. I am not able to make a diagnosis of what I do not know. I can only to say that when there have been rules and demands, we have done very well".
Negotiations with the club
The former Barça player has also explained a little about the negotiations with the club for his return home. " The president called me and told me that I was the one chosen. I had a penalty, but we all did a little of our part to solve it".
"I see a lot of enthusiasm in this new project, the expectations are very high, the idea is to achieve immediate performance. In short, the illusion. It has been a very fast return for me, it has changed our lives in a matter of three or four days I will give up my life if it is necessary for this to work. "
"Now we are thinking about the day we play against Espanyol, in the derby, about winning it and from there we will think about the next match. But as I have always said, Barça is here to win. We will work hard to win".
"Clearly the club is not in its best moment. It is a project in the medium or long term" has assured Xavi Hernández, new coach of the Catalans.
The former Barça player has been questioned on several occasions about what will be his guidelines, the Catalan coach has explained his main intentions. " I want an intense team that leaves its soul on the pitch and goes on the attack, whatever its rival, because that is Barça's DNA".
To all this, it has been the Catalan himself who has summarized the keys to his project: "Demand, train hard, be able to instill the objectives of the technical staff and know that we are in Barcelona. Here it is not worth drawing, much less losing. Here when it is tied or lost it is a funeral and brings consequences".
"We are in the most demanding team in the world, you have to win to convince, it is not worth a 1-0 in the 90th minute" added the new coach of Barça.
He comes at a difficult time, but he is very clear about what to do
On the other hand, the president of the club Joan Laporta has also spoken and was very excited in the presentation to the media: "Xavi's return as coach to Barça marks a history, Xavi Hernández transmits joy and confidence to everyone. There is hope in people".
Likewise, the Barça president did not want to elaborate on the questions regarding the payment of the termination clause of Xavi to Al Sadd, only acknowledging the following:
"Xavi has it difficult, he has a team to do. Rijkaard took a team to do, Pep already had fundamentals and led him to excellence. The roles are not easy for the coach, but Xavi is very clear about it, and he knows what do".
