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As the living legend Xavi Hernández gets closer to a historical mark of 750 games played in a Barcelona uniform, he gave an interview to Barça's website in which he looked back at his career with the Blaugrana, and you can notice how much respect Xavi has for the institution, and how focused he is on doing his best for the club. What a legend. Check out his interview:
So, nearly 750. How does it feel when you look back at how it all started?
Very young. When I was 18-19-20 years old I was a naïve lad, but I was lucky enough to be in the best club in the world. Being in the first team for 17 years, plus as a youth player, that's nearly 25 years here and that makes me so proud to be here and stay here. I'm very glad that I didn't leave this year, that I'm still playing games and being useful to Barça and competing. I look back and there have been a lot of games and unique, magic moments at my lifelong club.
Did you think you'd be a central midfielder?
No. When I was 12-13 they had me as a defensive midfielder and it was Rijkaard who changed my position. He said I had the talent to play further up and I hadn't noticed. It didn't feel right at first and I never imagined that the best years of my career would be in central midfield. But that's what happened. I've adapted and tried to do the best I can, and our generation has had the best years in Barça history.
What was the most enjoyable stage of your Barça career?
All of them. Being at Barça is a feeling of happiness for me. You're learning, earning your place. Now I'm more of a captain and the most veteran player but I'm also enjoying it a lot. I enjoy playing, the team is winning, and that's what matters most. For the team to click, that's the main goal. And if you're also enjoying yourself on the pitch then so much the better. But the last ten years, apart from those 4 or 5 when we didn't win anything, I enjoyed them like a kid.
How important for you is it for the model to be preserved?
It's basic. The titles we've won in recent years prove that. I think it would be wrong to change our style, to change the Barça DNA. We must be competitive, and always try to get to the end of the season in contention for titles. In recent years, I think we've been achieving our objectives, which are these. The Barça style, method and DNA can never be changed.
