00:22Good evening everyone, hope you're well. Sorry for a slight delay. Please raise your hand if you have a question.
00:27We'll start with questions from English media, followed by questions from Spanish media.
00:32Someone to start please. Thank you.
00:40Pat, with a game of this magnitude, how beneficial do you feel it's been to manage the minutes of the
00:46players the way you have done?
00:48And ultimately, potentially, how much of an advantage could that give you, particularly when you look at the injury issues
00:54facing Real Madrid as well?
00:57We play 11 against 11 tomorrow. Of course, when you have everybody fit and we play a lot of competitions,
01:04a lot of games.
01:05Of course, it's better to rotate fresh legs, fresh mind. But tomorrow is another one.
01:11So, different competitions comparing Premier League or FA Cup. So, first leg for the two games and try to get
01:19a good result.
01:23Pep, you know how much of an impact the crowd here can have on the Real Madrid when they play
01:29well.
01:29How important is it for your team to remain focused tomorrow and not get the emotions, kind of get the
01:35better of them?
01:36The emotions come when you play bad or the opponent is better. After the emotions can be influenced.
01:43So, it's not the first time we are here. We came many times, a lot of players know it and
01:49try to…
01:51This kind of competition that's so important. You never know what is going to happen. But for sure, definitely, it
02:00cannot happen good things if you are not who you are.
02:03It's impossible. You have to face the game, face the opponent in an incredible respect, but facing, looking his eyes,
02:11I said…
02:12Okay. So, this is who we are as a team and you have to do it. Well, maybe you are
02:18lucky and go through, but the next one you will not be lucky.
02:22So, you have to do who you are and that is the only intention that when you play in the
02:26biggest stages and being against the big teams,
02:29and knowing that, of course, we'll be in 180 minutes, moments for the both teams and as much you control
02:35the bad moments or the good moments of them, will be better.
02:40Hi, Pep. You've got two sort of new players in your squad with Grahi and Semenya. They'll be playing their
02:45first Champions League game.
02:47Obviously, a big occasion for them. How much of a difference have they made?
02:50Always, always in life, always in life. That is the first time. It's the players like arrive at this transfer
02:55window with 25, 26 years old.
02:57As quick they start to leave this kind of situation, better will be for the future, for this club.
03:08Pep, you came here last season in the playoff and Real were with a better team.
03:14How different does it feel this season coming back with this group of players and expectations that you could get
03:21through to the quarterfinals?
03:22Yeah, definitely. We arrived better in terms of we have the squad. Last season, we arrived a lot of fatigue
03:29with a few, few players available to compete in that moment.
03:32But when you play against that team, they have an incredible experience for many reasons.
03:42I will tell you tomorrow, especially next Tuesday night after the game.
04:03A lot of surprises. It's the first time we play against Alvaro. So, I don't know. So, no.
04:17Honestly, it's no surprises. I think we know each other. He knows us. Of course, there are some adjustments we
04:26have to do for the quality they have, but no surprises.
04:32For lots of teams that come here, there's a fear factor about coming to the Bernabeu with the fans, you
04:36know, the team, the players that they have, but you've been here so often.
04:39Has that fear factor worn off, do you think, for your players, that you're so used to it now that
04:43it's not a factor anymore?
04:44Yeah, but it's the same. You are not able to handle this situation when we play in Anfield or play
04:50in Old Trafford or Emirates, Stamford Bridge or Camp Nou, Bayern Munich or...
04:56There's no news. You have to leave that. Or PSG in that moment that is the last champion.
05:02So, we try to distract and there's a football game. Of course, honestly, it's better to be here than not
05:09be here. I prefer to be here than don't be here.
05:11I prefer to come into the stadium to play in the last 16, you know, because that means we are
05:19in the more or less the elite of the Europe, like this club I said many times, 12, 30 years
05:25ago, never, never was there.
05:26So, as much you are here, as much you play that games, for me, myself, it's always a learning for
05:31the new players that we have, always experience for the future.
05:35And, of course, we want to go through. Of course, we are going to give everything to win the game
05:39tomorrow, to go through next Tuesday, because we want to continue.
05:43And this is the way you have to approach the game.
05:46Pep, hello. You just said no good things come unless you are who you are as a football team. How
05:54would you describe your football team, the identity of it?
05:58Newcastle game, define who we are.
06:01Meaning?
06:04Watch the game. Define the team like we want to be proactive to regain the ball when we can attack
06:12quick for the quality they have we have to do.
06:14Otherwise, drop the team, don't make many mistakes, like in this competition punish you a lot, drop them and attack
06:24inconsistency again and again and again.
06:27We want to regain the ball, recover as quick as possible.
06:30As I think we define that team within the last 10 years and up and down. You cannot be there
06:36in 10 years all the time being perfect.
06:38And we restart with the new players three, two, three, four times since one decade.
06:46But the intensity I think define a little bit what happened four days ago. That is what I think the
06:51players live it and I insist many times.
06:55So when we were two or three months ago and we start guys, we play today to prove ourselves how
07:01is the way you have to play to arrive in the last stages to compete against good teams.
07:05Because we have 67% of the players, a new one this season. And it's okay, we have to play,
07:12I don't know, in November, December, January, we have to win that game, it's important.
07:16But we have to prove, we have to play in the way, we have to visualize and see, oh, we
07:20are able, we can do good things.
07:22We can do, to arrive in these stages, be aware that we can do it. Otherwise, we'll be a next
07:26step.
07:27The next season we'll be back and we'll do it again. But once we are here, we have to prove
07:31ourselves our best.
07:31Otherwise, for my experience, arriving in finals, Champions League, on semifinals, if you are not who you are, it's more
07:40difficult.
07:40You can be lucky, yeah. In this competition, it's not 38 games like to win the Premier League or the
07:47league, I have to be so regular, consistent.
07:50In this competition, sometimes you deserve to go through, it don't happen, and sometimes you play really, really bad and
07:56you go through.
07:57Because football isn't predictable many times, but you have to try to, you know, you're the tickets, you know, to
08:07deserve.
08:07I wouldn't deserve to be in the next round. And the only thing I had the feeling to deserve to
08:13be in the next round is being who you are.
08:16So it's the only chance.
08:20Pep, a little bit, I want to know a little bit more on what you're saying.
08:25So you've said many times that as a team and as a club, you have to grow to deserve to
08:31be in the next round, to win competitions.
08:33What does that mean as a club? Learning what? What is it that you have to learn?
08:38About what?
08:39To be able to compete better, you know, that experience that you're talking about.
08:43Play better than the opponent. In a football game, there are a lot of factors.
08:48To the inside pieces of modern football, especially in Premier League, is an incredible weapon.
08:53But play better than the opponent. Sometimes you play better, you don't, you are not.
08:59Sometimes you play, as I said before, you don't play as your match and you go through.
09:05But always I try, you know, to say, OK. And it's not easy because my feeling, sorry, but my Barcelona
09:16time, when I was in Barcelona,
09:18I always had the feeling that we were. In Bayern Munich, in Man City, never we were who I think
09:23we're supposed to be.
09:24That is always my feeling, the times. And always I want, when I come here, when I went in the
09:30past Barcelona last time than here,
09:32or in Munich, or in the biggest stages, or in Anfield, for example, with Jürgen when we play in Champions
09:36League.
09:37Try to be ourselves. Try to face the opponent and don't look much in the consequences.
09:44If you are out, we are out. Congratulate Madrid and next season try to be back.
09:49But at least go out, it's because you were who you were.
09:53This is always my concern in the biggest stages when I arrive in March, April, May, when you arrive in
09:57the competitions,
09:58in the finals, semi-finals, maybe clear. Because the opponent is better. Or you cannot impose what you want.
10:05It's possible, it can happen. But at least try it. Just try it.
10:11Hi, Pep. You just said there about you had sometimes the feeling of Bayern and at City that you weren't
10:17quite the team that they could have been.
10:19When did that change at Bayern and at City? When did you think actually now we are who we can
10:25be?
10:25I think when the year that we won the final of the Champions League, playing not a good final, for
10:33example.
10:34Because the first one, I'm pretty sure you arrive in the same generation two or three times will be better.
10:39You need to experience that. It's difficult to arrive in the first time and winning.
10:43But in that team, software experiences in the past, that helps to grow up.
10:51Losing here in the last minutes, or playing good against Tottenham and being out in quarter-finals,
10:56or in many games where we were outstanding, a really, really good run out, is something you have to live.
11:02To arrive in that moment, I said, OK, but now there are a lot of players that didn't play that.
11:06And we'll see how we react, how we behave.
11:09Let's take some questions from the Spanish media, please. Just behind here, the gentleman. Thank you.
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