The 2013 season was special to Xavi Hernández, not only because of his athletic success. The master of the midfield of Spain , part of the last FIFA / FIFPro World XI won another championship with FC Barcelona and is ready to play his fourth FIFA World Cup ™ . In addition, he married last July.
The only downside of this radiant 2013 season lasted 90 minutes: the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup at the Maracana , where Brazil has given a lesson to the world champions title , with the key to a final victory with a score of 3:0 .
With FIFA.com , Xavi back on this match on this particular year 2013 for him and his thirst for revenge against the Seleção .
Xavi, the year 2013 has been very special and , for various reasons . What event was the most memorable for you?
There have been many . When we make a summary of this year, it was very good. We were not able to compete in Cup and Champions League with Madrid and Bayern , but we won the championship in an extraordinary way given the circumstances , with Tito Vilanova and his illness. I think the group was more united than ever in order to win the title with 100 points. This is a historic for us Liga. In terms of selection , we qualified for the World Cup in fine style in a very strong group since there was also France . He seemed very complicated to go to Paris to win but in the end we succeeded . The only bad experience was the final of the Confederations Cup, where Brazil was better than us. But in summary , it was a great year, I remember above all the Liga title given the adverse circumstances. It is an extraordinary merit.
You did not mention your wedding ...
We talk about football, is not it ? (laughs) That, too, yes ! On a personal level , I am very satisfied. It was the happiest day of my life, a very emotional moment also . I am very happy.
Even if your wife accuses you too watch football ?
Yes ( laughs). Well, this is my passion and my wife knows it. This is what I like and interests me most , which makes me happy and content . I watch football all my life , for sure . This is what I love most .
Knowing your passion for tactical analysis of matches, did you find an explanation for the difference between Brazil and Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup ?
I think we have not addressed the final best physically. The semi-final against Italy, with the extension, it hurts us. Scoring in the first minute , Brazil is immediately freed from the pressure of playing at home. It's a game where everything went wrong for us, while Brazil has achieved everything he undertook. But we must be fair and recognize that that day , Brazil was better than Spain. That's why it's still a positive experience with the World . We already know the weather conditions and we now know what to expect if we face Brazil. I'd say they were able to overcome the pressure of being the host country.
Much has been made of the Brazilian anthem before the match, and the intimidating atmosphere of the Maracanã . At the professional level , what is the real impact of the environment on the performance of a team?
A favorable environment always helps , even if often it can be against -productive. It is a pressure that adds and need to know to overcome . Brazil scored the first and last minute of the first period. It gives a huge advantage. I remember that before this action Pedro was saved on the line by David Luiz . If we had equalized the game has changed. But Brazil has played a big discipline. They pressed us, they moved the ball well and they did not let him play .
The fate that you may go cross Brazil from the second round. Expect a rematch ?
I hope, I hope ... Or in the final, why not? Knowing that this is the World and the difficulty of our group ... But they also do not have an easy group . Football always gives you the opportunity to take revenge . I hope that this will happen in the World Cup , and as late as possible in the competition.
Are you talking about this potential contrast with the rest of the team?
No no, just because we are in a tough group , very complicated , one of the hardest of the World Cup . We will fight and we want to make things right, to defend our title. But we must be careful. We know the difficulty of the World and in Brazil, it will be hard from the beginning, saw the group in which we are . This is not the most difficult, but one of the most difficult .
What did you think when you saw that the Netherlands were placed in your group?
Football is full of amazing stories . We'll start in the next World against the team we have beaten in the final of the last ... Fate has willed it so . He gave us the Netherlands and Chile , which is also very strong and we met several times. And then there is Australia. We'll see what it's worth but on paper , it's a really tough group .
You said this would be your last World . Is it still relevant?
Sure and certain , yes ...
This makes it different from other time issue ?
No, I do not think so. I will discuss this tournament with the greatest possible hope and I hope to be in good physical condition . At the moment , I feel good and I really want to participate and make a great World Cup. Spain go as far as possible and if we can defend our title , knowing how difficult it is to do , it will be even better. This is obvious. I would leave the World Cup in fine style .
Do not forget to visit FIFA.com Tuesday, February 4 to read the second part of this interview, in which Xavi speaks of FC Barcelona, Gerardo Martino, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and his professional future .
The only downside of this radiant 2013 season lasted 90 minutes: the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup at the Maracana , where Brazil has given a lesson to the world champions title , with the key to a final victory with a score of 3:0 .
With FIFA.com , Xavi back on this match on this particular year 2013 for him and his thirst for revenge against the Seleção .
Xavi, the year 2013 has been very special and , for various reasons . What event was the most memorable for you?
There have been many . When we make a summary of this year, it was very good. We were not able to compete in Cup and Champions League with Madrid and Bayern , but we won the championship in an extraordinary way given the circumstances , with Tito Vilanova and his illness. I think the group was more united than ever in order to win the title with 100 points. This is a historic for us Liga. In terms of selection , we qualified for the World Cup in fine style in a very strong group since there was also France . He seemed very complicated to go to Paris to win but in the end we succeeded . The only bad experience was the final of the Confederations Cup, where Brazil was better than us. But in summary , it was a great year, I remember above all the Liga title given the adverse circumstances. It is an extraordinary merit.
You did not mention your wedding ...
We talk about football, is not it ? (laughs) That, too, yes ! On a personal level , I am very satisfied. It was the happiest day of my life, a very emotional moment also . I am very happy.
Even if your wife accuses you too watch football ?
Yes ( laughs). Well, this is my passion and my wife knows it. This is what I like and interests me most , which makes me happy and content . I watch football all my life , for sure . This is what I love most .
Knowing your passion for tactical analysis of matches, did you find an explanation for the difference between Brazil and Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup ?
I think we have not addressed the final best physically. The semi-final against Italy, with the extension, it hurts us. Scoring in the first minute , Brazil is immediately freed from the pressure of playing at home. It's a game where everything went wrong for us, while Brazil has achieved everything he undertook. But we must be fair and recognize that that day , Brazil was better than Spain. That's why it's still a positive experience with the World . We already know the weather conditions and we now know what to expect if we face Brazil. I'd say they were able to overcome the pressure of being the host country.
Much has been made of the Brazilian anthem before the match, and the intimidating atmosphere of the Maracanã . At the professional level , what is the real impact of the environment on the performance of a team?
A favorable environment always helps , even if often it can be against -productive. It is a pressure that adds and need to know to overcome . Brazil scored the first and last minute of the first period. It gives a huge advantage. I remember that before this action Pedro was saved on the line by David Luiz . If we had equalized the game has changed. But Brazil has played a big discipline. They pressed us, they moved the ball well and they did not let him play .
The fate that you may go cross Brazil from the second round. Expect a rematch ?
I hope, I hope ... Or in the final, why not? Knowing that this is the World and the difficulty of our group ... But they also do not have an easy group . Football always gives you the opportunity to take revenge . I hope that this will happen in the World Cup , and as late as possible in the competition.
Are you talking about this potential contrast with the rest of the team?
No no, just because we are in a tough group , very complicated , one of the hardest of the World Cup . We will fight and we want to make things right, to defend our title. But we must be careful. We know the difficulty of the World and in Brazil, it will be hard from the beginning, saw the group in which we are . This is not the most difficult, but one of the most difficult .
What did you think when you saw that the Netherlands were placed in your group?
Football is full of amazing stories . We'll start in the next World against the team we have beaten in the final of the last ... Fate has willed it so . He gave us the Netherlands and Chile , which is also very strong and we met several times. And then there is Australia. We'll see what it's worth but on paper , it's a really tough group .
You said this would be your last World . Is it still relevant?
Sure and certain , yes ...
This makes it different from other time issue ?
No, I do not think so. I will discuss this tournament with the greatest possible hope and I hope to be in good physical condition . At the moment , I feel good and I really want to participate and make a great World Cup. Spain go as far as possible and if we can defend our title , knowing how difficult it is to do , it will be even better. This is obvious. I would leave the World Cup in fine style .
Do not forget to visit FIFA.com Tuesday, February 4 to read the second part of this interview, in which Xavi speaks of FC Barcelona, Gerardo Martino, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and his professional future .
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