The calm seems to be finally settling in at a frazzled Barcelona after a halcyonic weekend saw the tadtional Spanish giants taking some thundering blows that floored them after the LaLiga title chase slipped away from their grasp amid a dismal home loss to Osasuna.
Barca’s most iconic talisman, Lionel Messi, gave another rare post-match interview after leading his side to a reinvigorating 5-0 drubbing of Alaves that saw him breaking a few more records the way only he can. Following the decisive end-of-season victory, Messi addressed several issues regarding the team’s performances and made an unusual admission about how Barcelona managed to bounce back and revealed some of the important things the club needs to do ahead of the Champions League.
Speaking to Movistar and BarcaTV (via Besoccer.com), the 33-year-old acknowledged the contribution of coach Quique Setien, saying, “As the coach said the other day, we did good things and we have to keep that up.” This is perhaps due to the one-hour meeting the two had over the weekend at Setien’s behest immediately after the Osasuna loss to patch up their differences and pool their resources to shore up in preparation for their Champions League last-16 final leg encounter with Napoli.
Not surprisingly, Messi recalled with candor the club’s embarrassing defeat to Osasuna in its last home game of the season but appeared to regain his usual poise and composure after their resounding 5-0 victory over Alaves, and pensively reflected, minus the anger and angst, that the Osasuna loss had indeed been a “difficult game.”
On a more positive note, he also revealed Barcelona’s turning point and how the team managed to bounce back literally almost overnight on their feet.
“The feeling is different, this time we saw something different. It was a difficult game to play because of the situation we were in, the kick-off time, the heat,” Messi admitted.
“The team showed a different attitude and more commitment and it’s a step in the right direction ahead of what’s to come which is going to be difficult.”
“The main thing we did was criticize ourselves in private,” he continued.
“We realized a lot of things were not right. We improved our quality and commitment. [Afterward], things can go for you or not, but you can’t be beaten because of a lack of effort. You have to put in as much or more effort than your opponents.”
Barcelona is up next to square off againt Napoli in the second leg of the Champions League. Ahead of the must-win match, Messi laid out the things the team needs to do and what their priorities should be.
The Argentine icon emphasized that individual recognitions are secondary – a reference to his winning the Pichichi award for the seventh time and consecutive fourth after adding two more goals from the Alaves outing for an unprecedented grand haul of 25 goals this season and a new record of 21 assists, eclipsing that of Xavi’s 20.
The Barca talisman stressed that returning with “clear heads” would be essential for their return to battle for glory.
“It’s an important moment for us because we are playing for important things, but you do not need to have the captain’s armband for that. We are all aware that we have to be more consistent. The individual prizes are secondary,” Messi said.
“We need a bit of calm now in this break. We have to clear our heads and return more keen than ever before. We already said what we had to say, now we have to settle down and do our best,” he concluded.
Barca’s final game of the season’s decisive victory, and their captain’s resurgent spirit and calm reminder for clear heads to prevail in preparation for the daunting task ahead, would no doubt go a long way to fortify and refresh the waning spirits of his gallant team mates. The truly great do not tamely succumb to defeat and just lick their wounds, bemoaning their fate. They get back on their feet, brush off the lost moments and look ahead with new zeal and fervor to battle anew.
After all, only one battle, albeit a major one, has been lost. The war is still yet to be won.