Alaves manager defends Barcelona boss Xavi ahead of La Liga faceoff: “He is a real Cule”

Barcelona return to action tomorrow for the first time since their 1-0 win over Osasuna. Travelling to Estadio de Mendizorroza, they are set to take on Deportivo Alaves in a tricky fixture and make amends for the recent run of poor results at the club.

The Catalans are already ten points behind leaders Real Madrid, and a trophyless season appears to be the writing on the wall. Yet, Xavi’s men have their reasons to battle on and treat every game as a must-win, especially with the race for UCL qualification growing tight.

Speaking to the media ahead of his team’s clash against Barcelona, Alaves manager Luis Garcia did not hold back in defending Xavi Hernandez and calling his time in Catalonia so far a success.

“Xavi is a real Culé. Remember Arteta’s results at the beginning? In the Premier League what happens here doesn’t happen. Xavi’s work in two years has not been bad,” he said.

He then went on to address the topic of how the Blaugranas are heavily targeted by the media despite their decent record this season, thus emphasising the pressure faced by the players and the manager.

“I noticed that they say that we will defeat Barcelona easily and this is ridiculous. They have not lost away from home and their value is underestimated.”

“They indeed draw a lot away from home and this does not achieve their goals, but they have players who have the ability to win even if they do not play well. Good, they cannot be underestimated,” he added on the Azulgrana outfit.

Finally, Garcia gave his two cents on his team’s chances against Barcelona and how he hoped to tackle Xavi’s side.

“If we do not do our best, we have no options against them. We will play with full force, do not doubt that.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo