Spanish NT manager talks Xavi, Gavi, Pedri: “Seeing Gavi like this…” | OneFootball

Gavi’s injury has left a void in Xavi’s squad that cannot be filled. The youngster boasted of a unique combination of perseverance, dedication, and quality that no signing can compensate for.

Rightfully so, the brunt of the blame for Gavi’s injury fell on the shoulders of the Spanish National Team and the manager, Luis De La Fuente.

The La Roja coach came under severe criticism after the event, for his decision to start the over-worked midfielder even for an irrelevant friendly against Georgia came across as unreasonable.

Yet, he washed his hands clean from the subject in a recent interview, where he said,

“The footballer always wants to play. That’s why I say that the national team is not responsible for anything. The calendar is what it is,” he said.

Now, the manager has once again come out to talk to MARCA in an extensive interview. As part of the same, he was asked to express his feelings over the midfielder’s plight.

“I always give priority to the health of the players. Seeing Gavi like this, who is one of the most beloved players in the dressing room, gave us a very bad time. The feelings in the dressing room at half-time were very difficult.”

He then commented on the conversation he had with Barcelona manager Xavi and the good understanding the duo shared.

“Very good. I have a great relationship with him. We talked about football and he understood what happened.”

“I know people talk about it but we take care of the players. I spoke with Xavi and there was no reprimand, it was very friendly,” he added.

Finally, De La Fuente once again reiterated the care he took for players in the Spanish National Team and used his handling of Barcelona’s Pedri as an example of the same.

“We take care of the players. We could have called Pedri to the final list, but we did not.”