Xavi: "I’ll be ready for València"

Barcelona (FCB).- As expected, Xavi Hernandez appeared before the press following first team training. The midfielder spoke about his injury, a muscle tear on the calf of his left leg that should see him sidelined for over a week. Although he knows that the healing process and his own sensations are important, Xavi hopes to be 100% fit next Wednesday: "It's a small injury. We'll see how it evolves, but there won’t be any problem in being fit for Valencia."

No alarm bells

Xavi joins Jeffren, Puyol and Valdes on the injury list. However, Xavi doesn’t think there is an injury epidemic in the team, since "they are minor injuries, not lengthy ones, except maybe Jeffren’s”.  He explained that these injuries "are coincidental, caused by stress and too many games … it’s normal, just like in any other team”.

Guardiola’s contract renewal

In addition to his injury, the other topic of the day is the renewal of Pep Guardiola’s contract. Xavi Hernández said. "This is great news for Pep, the club and the players. It is a very happy time for Barcelona," said the midfielder, who defined the current manager as “the vital cog in the wheel”.

Superior on the pitch

To the people questioning Barça’s performances in February, Xavi totally disagreed. "If you look at the games, we’ve been better than our opponents. At Sporting, in London, against Bilbao…” But he knows that "people tend to focus on results, but if you look at the games you will see that we were better and deserved a better outcome."

Difficult against Arsenal

Xavi doesn’t want to hear anything about the treble and is focused on "trying to win trophies without looking too far ahead, because that would be a mistake.” Xavi is aware that the most complicated competition at the moment is the Champions League because “we got a  bad result away, and it won’t be easy. As for the rest, the Cup final is 50-50 and the League is more in our favor, but that could change."

Barça bite

"With the ball at his feet, Valdés is the best goalkeeper in the world"

Xavi highlighted the excellent performance by José Manuel Pinto on Sunday making up for the absence of Victor Valdes, but the midfielder had a lot of good things to say about FC Barcelona’s first team keeper. "Victor is a crucial player for us. Aside from being one of the best keepers around, with the ball at his feet he is the best goalkeeper in the world"