Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has admitted he regrets comments he made about third-tier side Ceuta as he prepares to face the club in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
Xavi told a pre-match press conference on Wednesday, January 18 that he meant no disrespect when he said his team had been “lucky” to have been drawn against Ceuta.
“I felt bad afterwards. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant we were playing against a team from a lower category. Intercity made life difficult. The Copa now is a one-match knockout round and we must be alert,” he said. “I have also played in the lower categories. I have a lot of respect for the Ceuta coach. They have a similar style of play as us. I didn’t mean to disrespect him whatsoever. I have big respect for the team and their coach. I said it with regards to their standings.”
Ceuta are the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and manager Jose Juan Romero was not happy with Xavi’s comments. The coach told Cadena Ser that he was not at all impressed with the Barcelona coach’s assessment of the draw, as reported by Goal.
“It wasn’t a very appropriate comment to make. He could have said it in another way. It hasn’t sat well with me, the club or anyone,” he said. “We won’t go into the game to ask for shirts, we will go after them. Then, after the game, we will see who was lucky.”
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Barcelona Struggled In Last Round
Xavi will know his team face a tough test against Ceuta, particularly after seeing his players struggle in the last round against third-tier opposition. The Catalans needed extra-time to see off Intercity 4-2 and progress.
Ceuta have already pulled off a shock in the tournament by knocking out La Liga opposition on their way to the last 16. Romero’s team beat Elche last time out and will fancy taking another scalp when Barcelona visit.
Yet Barcelona head into the match fresh from a morale-boosting Spanish Super Cup win over Real Madrid. Xavi’s side enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win over their fierce rivals to deliver their boss his first trophy as Barca manager.
Another Title For Xavi?
The Copa del Rey now offers Xavi the chance to add another title to his collection and his team will be overwhelming favorites to win the game and book their spot in the quarter-finals.
Xavi made it clear that he is wary of the threat offered by Ceuta but is hoping his team can ride the momentum created from their Super Cup win.
“Our objective is to win titles, so we want to play a good game, we want to show our dominance against this side,” he added. “They are two categories lower than us but we saw already against Intercity that these kinds of teams can push us into extra-time. So we want to give continuity that we just achieved in the Super Cup.”
Ceuta’s cup run this season has been in stark contrast to their league form. Romero’s side are currently bottom of the third-tier and nine points adrift with just two wins from 19 league games.
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‘I Felt Bad Afterwards’ – Xavi Regrets ‘Lucky’ Barcelona Comments