MADRID, Feb. 17 — FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez admitted that he would miss hearing the Champions League theme when his side hosts Napoli in the Europa League knockout round play-off on Thursday evening.
Barca plays the Europa League for the first time in their history after finishing third behind Bayern Munich and Benfica in the Champions League qualifying group before Christmas.
“It makes me angry to listen to the music of the Champions League and not be there,” admitted Xavi in his pre-game press conference on Wednesday.
However, with Barca out of the Copa del Rey knockout competition and 15 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga, he admitted that the Europa League offered Barca’s best, if not their only chance of silverware this season.
“It is a title that Barca has never won and it is an opportunity for us, we want to show that we can compete in Europe and it can also be a way to be in the Champions League next season, so we are very motivated.”
“We would like to compete in the Champions League, but our reality is that we are in the Europa League. We have to show that we can compete and continue to improve,” continued the Barca coach, who said that his side was in the Europa League because they “didn’t do our homework.”
“This is a great competition, it is not the third division,” he added.
He also looked at Barca’s rivals, who are currently second in Serie A, just two points away from league leaders AC Milan. Xavi said that Napoli was a “Champions League team.”
“We are candidates, not favorites to go through. This tie is very even. Napoli is a great team and is fighting for the Italian ‘Scudetto’,” he concluded. (Xinhua)
