Barcelona coach Xavi insists his players haven’t been unsettled by the Negreira case ahead of their clash with Real Madrid.
Real go to Barcelona needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit in the second-leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.
Xavi said: “Our match example is the day of the Super Cup and the home game. Examples of our ideal match. But we have before us the current champion of the League and the Champions League. We have worked to counteract this possible dominance of Madrid and have it ourselves. It will not be easy.
“Extra-sports issues do not enter the locker room. We talk about how to defend, how to attack… we don’t talk about UEFA, Negreira or LaLiga. We are focused on the Cup: there is a Clasico, they will come wanting revenge and we want to show that we can win again. The Camp Nou has to be a pressure cooker.”
On tension between the two clubs’ boards, he said: “For me nothing changes: it is an eternal rivalry, you have to have respect but of course there is tension because we play a lot. But nothing more, to compete, that there is a football war.”
Xavi is delighted with their season so far, adding: “I was convinced that the objective this year was to win titles. I think we have an obligation, we have one and we have the opportunity to win two more. We have LaLiga well placed but we have only won the Super Cup. I saw things in training that struck me at the beginning of the season: I was very positive.”
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