The Chilean midfielder is determined to add a second Spanish top-flight crown to his impressive trophy haul at the end of the season
Barcelona‘s Arturo Vidal is targeting a ninth consecutive title when La Liga resumes, having won honours each preceeding year with Bayern Munich and Juventus, insisting there are “11 finals” left to play for Quique Setien’s side.
Vidal has racked up 94 appearances across all competitions for Barca since joining the club from Bayern in 2018, scoring nine goals.
The 33-year-old was instrumental in the Blaugrana’s successful La Liga defence last season, and has once again been a key member of the squad in 2019-20.
Barca sat top of the standings by two points ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid before play was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March, with a third successive triumph still on the cards if they can finish the season strongly.
La Liga officials have given the green light for a June 11 restart, and Vidal is fully focused on picking up the ninth domestic crown of his career when the action gets back underway.
He told Barca’s official website: “These 11 games are going to be 11 finals, we are all clear about that, and that they will be very difficult. We have to trust ourselves, we have to think about winning and also doing it in the best way.
“It would be a dream to win nine leagues in a row, because achieving a record with that many titles is very difficult. I still feel good and will continue fighting and winning trophies.
“Few players in history have done this and I’m proud. I hope to win the 9th here with Barca.”
Barca’s latest bid for silverware will be boosted by the return of Luis Suarez, who has been training with the rest of the squad this month after recovering from knee surgery while in self-isolation.
Vidal is delighted to see the Uruguayan striker back in the fold, and hopes intensity levels within the squad can reach their maximum with the Champions League also set to restart over the summer.
“For us, it is very important that Luis and the other injured players recover, because it will be two intense months with many games to play in a short space of time,” said the Chilean ace.
“We need to be at 100 per cent for the two competitions we have left. I know the players are all well and have a great desire to win.
“We have all come back to training in very good physical condition, having prepared at home. We can’t all be together yet, but hopefully soon.”
Vidal added on being reunited with his team-mates after two months in quarantine: “It was an incredible joy to return to training, those two months being locked up were quite long.
“You enjoy it a lot more when you’re on the pitch with your team-mates, it’s a very nice experience. Now we are coming back and are doing very well [in training], but we are facing some very important months ahead.”
“It was exciting to come back after what happened. With team-mates… there was a lot of happiness and a lot of conversation at a distance, trying to understand if each one of us has had the virus.”
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