The coach accepts that the summer talk with the center-back led to this withdrawal
“Gerard steps aside and shows exemplary greatness”
BARCELONA, 4 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of FC Barcelona, ??Xavi Hernández, assured this Friday after knowing this week that Gerard Piqué is retiring -after the matches against Almería and Osasuna- that the central defender “deserves” to be “honored and valued as a legend” of the Blaugrana club and, in addition, he recognized that the loss of prominence of the ‘3’ in the green is one of the reasons for the youth squad’s goodbye.
“The normal thing is to take that step to the side. It honors him, a lot, because he has a contract and could continue perfectly but he shows exemplary greatness by taking that step to the side. He deserves praise, he deserves the best and that Barcelona fans honor and value him as what he is; a legend of the club”, valued Xavi on Piqué.
In a long appearance before the press, with the majority of questions about Piqué’s goodbye, Xavi assured that he has been “lucky” to be a teammate and coach of the central defender and that he understands that he takes that step to the side and does not want to continue being active by “a series of circumstances” that the technician understands.
Among the reasons to say goodbye, the conversation that Xavi had with Piqué this past summer, before starting the season. “I communicated my intentions to him. It was one of the most difficult days of my coaching career, the moment to speak with Gerard this past summer. And now too. But this has happened to all of us. When you are not so important, you feel bad and it is difficult to manage it. We have learned about the withdrawal this week,” he said.
“These are decisions that I have to make for the good of the club and the team, sometimes they are wrong. I have believed in many moments that another player had to play and not Gerard, and it is that hard because I have been a teammate and I have a great That is why I say that it is difficult to make those decisions”, he reiterated about the reason for Piqué’s weight loss in the team, a completely sporting decision.
Personally, the man from Terrassa assured that he was honest with Piqué regarding his football situation. “I don’t know if I’ve been fair, but sincere and honest and honorable in the message of telling him what I wanted. Gerard has been an example for the team, since I’ve been a coach, for the captains and for the youngsters and for the ‘ staff’. Without a bad face and training one hundred percent. I was honest with him in the summer and the circumstances have made him decide to have this final point, “he confirmed.
“I don’t have any problem with Gerard, on the contrary. He has joined us and if he continued he would join us. Not a bad face, whether he played ten minutes or half an hour or ninety minutes. It is a personal decision for various circumstances, for playing less and perhaps for that conversation we had,” he added.
Xavi did not want to reveal whether or not Piqué will play at the start of his farewell to the Camp Nou, in front of his fans. That yes, the center-back, winner of 30 titles with the club, will continue as an active player until after the next day. “We’ll see if he starts. We’ll see him tomorrow. We have him, in principle, until the day and match against Osasuna”, confirmed the coach.
Of course, he sees him “calm”. “It’s fine. Very serene. I imagine it will come out tomorrow or the next few days. Let’s see what he wants to do, too. It will all depend on him,” she pointed out. And he will ask his players for an extra to beat Almería and fire the ‘3’ with those 3 points at stake. “Tomorrow is an extra motivation, saying goodbye to him, giving him the three points, that he leaves with a good feeling. And that they applaud him and chant his name. May it be a great day for the club and especially for Piqué”, he argued.
Without Gerard Piqué, Xavi believes that Barça is losing “leadership, commitment, courage and personality”. “For me he is one of the best centre-backs in the history of this sport,” he acknowledged. Hence, in the winter market, they can go find another central defender to compensate for the youth player’s departure.
Looking to the future, after Piqué’s farewell video in which he aimed to return to the club looking at the presidential box at the Camp Nou, he believes he can be whatever he wants. “Gerard can be whatever he wants, because of his character and personality and leadership. He has plenty of capacity and can be whatever he wants, no doubt,” he added.
As for the rival, from Almería he highlighted his “great coach”, the Blaugrana coach Rubi. “They have a great coach, Rubi knows the house well. He has a good footing in midfield, speed up, physically very fast on the wing, aggressive centre-backs. He’s going to complicate us for sure. It’s true that away from home they haven’t been successful, but in house have been very good,” he warned.
