The Paris Saint-Germain coach, Luis Enrique Martínez, assured, in the press conference prior to the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, that his counterpart on the Barcelona bench, Xavi Hernández, is a coach ‘top’ and that the results support it.
If in the previous appearance for the first leg, the Asturian coach assured that he best represented the spirit of Barça, six days later he chose to praise the Egarense coach.
«I will never be able to meet coach Xavi because he will not be able to train me. I also said that I would have liked him to have done it, but you didn’t pay attention to that because it doesn’t sell or interest, the controversy is interesting. I made my claim and I maintain it, because a defeat does not change anything and I repeat that I would have liked him to have trained me, like Guardiola, Aragonés… », he stated.
He appreciated the words of Xavi who, in the previous press conference, assured that the now PSG coach, Pep Guardiola and Luis Aragonés have been his references.
“Thank you. “He was someone who was of great help, he behaved perfectly and he added as a player in my first season as Barça coach,” he added.
He also celebrated the level of the eight coaches – four of them with a Barça past – who lead the teams that are fighting to qualify for the semifinals: “It is a wonder for football that the eight coaches offer that scoring spectacle.”
Regarding this Tuesday’s match at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, Luis Enrique was convinced that his team will be able to overcome the 2-3 deficit with which they will begin the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Barcelona.
«As a rule, we do not speculate and that word tomorrow does not exist for us. “We are convinced that we are going to turn it around,” she highlighted.
However, the Spanish coach acknowledged that, after falling in the Parc des Princes, it was difficult for his players to “recover their mental state”, although he specified that they face the duel “in a very good moment.”
In this sense, he added: «There is no need to exaggerate, nor tear one’s clothes when one loses. I have no doubt that we are going to compete and give joy to our fans.
The Gijón coach foresees a match similar to the first leg, with Barça trying to overcome the pressure of his team with balls into space to Lewandowski and he imagines a match with goals.
“The urgency of the two teams during the game may make it an exciting game, but for the coaches it may be less so,” he acknowledged.
Luis Enrique would have liked to play for his place in the semi-final at the Camp Nou – “a unique and mythical stadium,” he said – although he clarified that the Lluís Companys is also “a stage worthy of” the match. EFE
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