Barcelona: Barcelona midfielder Xavi raised the King’s Cup aloft alongside Andres Iniesta in his final appearance at Camp Nou on Saturday, and now victory in the Champions League would make it a perfect send-off for the club legend.
Xavi became the first Spanish player to win 24 trophies following the 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao and can still add to that with a victory over Juventus on June 6.
The home-grown talent may have only been a fringe player this season, but his trophy haul over 17 years shows his importance to the Catalan club that he will leave at the end of this campaign.
“We are now in a position where we can start to make comparisons although there is a long way to go and next Saturday we will see what happens,” Xavi told reporters.
“We could equal the historic treble, but who knows? I think the coach [Luis Enrique] has rotated the squad well and so we are all fresh which is important.
“We need to be cautious because Juventus also are a great side that have a lot of confidence. They also have a double and we will see how it works out but we want to make history.” Xavi made his debut for Barca under former coach Louis van Gaal and soon became an integral part of the team, but it was during a golden spell from 2008 to 2012 under Pep Guardiola, whom he replaced on the pitch as a midfield architect, that he really shone.
“The importance of Xavi in the history of Barca is clear for everyone to see,” Luis Enrique told a news conference.
“He has played the most official games and won the most trophies in the history of Barca. He still needs to win the Champions League again and then can retire on the big stage as I think he is doing.”
FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says his side could reach perfection if they complete their treble win by beating Juventus in the Champions League final on June 6.
“After the league and the cup, if we win the Champions League, it’d be reaching perfection. It’s already a great season, but the Champions League would make it brilliant,” Pique was quoted as saying by goal.com on Saturday.
“We got ready for the Copa del Rey final as if it were against Real Madrid or Atletico [Madrid]. They pressurised us for the ball hard at the beginning, but we made good use of the spaces,” the 28 year old said.
Neymar courted controversy with some Athletic players due to a perceived lack of respect towards the end of the game, but Pique insisted it was not significant.
“It’s no big deal. Maybe Neymar shouldn’t have been showboating so much and perhaps the Athletic players were already a bit wound up because they were losing,” Pique concluded.
