FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez admitted that the Champions League round of 16 first leg against Naples on Wednesday was “not an easy match to prepare for” since the Italian champion changed coach on Monday.
“Naples changed coach in a surprising way, they have their reasons (…) But it is not an easy match to prepare, because we do not know what to expect,” declared the Catalan coach in press conference.
“The new coach knows the house well. I don’t know what tactical scheme he will use, what system he will use. What is important is to concentrate on our playing system, on what we want to do, on our ambitions which are to reach the quarter-finals,” he continued.
“What is certain is that we will have to defend well against their offensive trident which is very strong. Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia and Politano can make the difference,” warned Xavi.
Naples, in bad shape in Serie A (9th), decided on Monday to thank Walter Mazzarri who took over from Frenchman Rudi Garcia in mid-November.
New coach Francesco Calzona, former assistant coach to Maurizio Sarri (2015-18) and Luciano Spalletti (2021-22) when they coached Napoli, only had one training session on Tuesday to get to know his new players .
For he insisted, recognizing that his team like Napoli “lacked consistency”.
The context at Barça is also special since Xavi announced at the end of January that he would leave his post at the end of the current season.
“It doesn’t change anything for me or for my team, I am motivated, I want to transmit my motivation to my team. When you are a Barça player or coach, the pressure is always the same and it is very strong,” he recalled.
Dutch attacking midfielder Frenkie de Jong, for his part, admitted that his teammates were “impatient to return to the round of 16”: it has been three years since we reached this stage of the competition.
Barça did not progress beyond the group stage of the C1 in 2022 and 2023. It was eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2021 edition by Paris SG (4-1, 1-1).
