Eric Garcia talks Xavi, Guardiola, Ansu Fati, Inter Milan encounter, El Clasico

Speaking in an interview on ESport3, Barcelona defender Eric Garcia has hailed manager Xavi Hernandez and likened him to former head coaches Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

The 21-year-old, who is enjoying a solid start to the season, played under Guardiola at Manchester City, before he joined Barça last summer. A few months after his arrival, Xavi took over as the manager from Ronald Koeman.

And Garcia has compared his current head coach to Guardiola as well as the Spanish national team manager Luis Enrique, saying Xavi is a mixture of the two.

“Xavi is a mixture of Guardiola and Luis Enrique. The idea of the game that the three have is identical. Each one has nuances, but it’s all about pressing after losing the ball and the ball output,” he said.

The Spanish defender also spoke about his relationship with Ansu Fati, with the duo having spent time at La Masia before reuniting in the first team last year when Garcia returned to the club.

“When he arrived at La Masia and his family was not there, he came to my house to spend the weekends. Now we spend the summers together and we trust each other a lot,” he said.

Garcia also spoke about Barcelona’s upcoming UEFA Champions League clash against Inter Milan, which is a must-win encounter for the team in order to stay with a chance of advancing in the tournament.

And the defender insisted that playing at home will be an advantage for the Blaugrana, saying: “We know what we’re playing for. Playing at home is an advantage for us. The fans will be with us like they have been all season. I hope we have a great night.”

Speaking of the performance in the win against Celta Vigo last week, Garcia said: “The game in the second half could have been better. But in the end in this kind of game what counts is winning.

“Last year, when things weren’t going well for us, it was these points that escaped us. This motivates us to head on to the game against Wednesday.” 

After the game against Inter, Barcelona will face off against arch-rivals Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season. And Eric Garcia believes that if the team recovers their form from before the international break, they can beat the current champions.

“We have to think about ourselves, until the stoppage of selections we were at a very high level of play and pressure. And I think that if we are at this level any rival can come and if we do things right we are at a higher level,” he said.

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