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Translation by totalBarça
About his 103caps with Spain
I am honoured
of still taking part
of the national team
after ten or eleven years
and also play more games than Raúl,
who is a legend for spanish football
and world football,
then it's great
(having 103 caps with Spain)
it's a great number
and I hope I can keep playing
I am in good shape
I am happy and proud of
this brilliant time for
the national team
I will keep adding my football
to the team
and having the support of the coach
I know I am important for this team
so I am happy about this milestone.
-His commitment with La Roja
People will always have doubts
I try to come and play
for the national team
as much as I can
I like to play for Spain, I love it
I love football,
I always want to play
but I am not getting any younger
and sometimes my Achilles hurt
or the soleus, or the calfs
I have to be careful
I am doing some work to prevent
major injuries,
the coach knows that
my team mates know that
my commitment is to the people near me
people who know me
I cannot influence on comments from the press
But those comments do not affect me
anymore,
I know where they come from
it was hard at the beginning
(press doubting about his commitment from being Catalan)
when I was young,
since I just wanted to perform
and that everybody liked me
but I learnt that is impossible
because of the huge rivalry
between Barça and Madrid
this issue affect the commitment allegations
so now I know where they come from
I know critics will always be there
I accept them when they're right
so I try to show my commitment
to people near me,
the coach and my team mates.
-Problems with Madrid players
It is not needed (to talk)
We (Barça players) don't have problems with them
in general
but if we do,
we discuss the situation
we talk if there is a need to
with Madrid players
or players from other clubs,
if that is the case,
we tend to talk only about Barça and Madrid,
we discuss the problems
as team mates, and find a solution
we are all playing for the same team here
so we all want Spanish football to be successful
so, we are representing Spanish football
and everyone has the same objective
which is going to the next Eurocup
and winning another title
I use to talk to Iker a lot
not just now that both teams
have faced each other again
we have a good communication
we know each other for at least 15 years
since the u-17 team
so we have a good relationship
that has not been damaged
we, as the most experienced players,
try to keep a good atmosphere in the team
if we have problems
we talk about them
that's our job as captains
help the team to keep the good atmosphere
And Pep has said it already
enough of all this (Barça-Madrid extreme recent rivalry)
we know it sells newspapers
that press needs these situations
but I would like them to talk about football
Spanish football is at a great level
people didn't believe in us before
now we have won a World Cup, an Eurocup,
Barça is also consistenly winning silverware
in Europe
so it would be nice if people focused
more on football
-Lots of talent in midfield
There is no problem for me!
Any talented player that comes
to add his experience and talent
both to Barça and the NT
is more than welcomed to join us
I like to find partners in the field
I like to play with everyone there
Cesc, Thiago, Iniesta,
Xabi Alonso here
the ones that are nearer me
in the field
so everyone that improves the team
is welcomed!
Javi Martínez uses to play in central defense
Busi and Xabi Alonso use to play in midfield
changing their position
I play more as interior midfield
the coach knows where to play us
the other day we faced a great team
Chile did a great first part
and then we added more people
in midfield during the second part
we improved our pressure, higher
they stopped playing so comfortable
as they did in the first half
everything changed
so it's clear the coach knows what to do
in every situation
Those are games to try players out
the U-21 team has won the European Tournament
so there is great potential there
some of them are already being
tryied out in the adult team
we have some injured players in defense
such as Piqué and Puyol
who are very important to the team
and were key players for the World Cup
and EuroCup
the coach has the last word
but we do have some alternatives in defense
-About Carles Puyol
I think he will recover
he wants to join the NT again
he is in great shame, having lots of training
it seems he's ready to come back
I am so happy for him
we miss him a lot here
-Defeats in friendly games
When we play friendly games
we unconsciously reduce the pace in our game
it is inevitable
but we have faced tough rivals
in these friendly games
so when we go out there more relaxed than normal
our rivals have outplayed us
but when we play official games, not friendlies,
the team has displayed good football
and good competitive spirit
I see this team has a lot of potential
the current generation is fantastic
-About the new Barça
I am optimistic about the team
we ended playing at a great level last season
and now we have some great new players
the youngsters at Barça B
well, anything can happen in football
there are very difficult teams
but I think we have potential
to keep winning titles
we are still ambitious
and have also passed rough times at the club
when we didn't win anything for years
so we try to keep the good spirit
and keep competing as we have
-Next game: Liechtenstein
We are the ones supposed to win this
but if we are not focused
this kind of games can get complicated
it is a team that should be inferior to us
but we respect them
and know we need to score soon
to have an easier game
I guess they will be focused on defending
so it will be hard to score
but we cannot waste this chance
to get into the next EuroCup soon.