Gündogan defends Xavi’s Barça: “We didn’t win anything, but we scored 85 points…”
Ilkay Gündogan’s departure from Barcelona seems to belong to a very distant future. The immediacy of current football and the situation that the Barça team is experiencing mean that the past is behind us, but the reality is that The German midfielder was part of the squad until less than a month ago.
The Manchester City player has given an interview for Daily Mail where he has commented on certain situations that he had to experience in Barcelona. What is clear from his words is that, despite having only been there for one season, he does not regret signing him: ““I fulfilled one of my childhood dreams, to play for Barça and wear that shield.”. However, he admits to having gone through difficult times: “It was a tough experience, but also a wonderful one.”
As to sports termsit may perhaps be surprising that Ilkay’s view of last season is not so negative like some fans may have. Furthermore, he positively values his time at the culé club. “I think I had great success there”assures the player.
The team, led by Xavi at that time, finished second in the League and could not advance from the quarterfinals in the Champions League. Even so, Gündogan believes that they did not do such a bad job: “Maybe people look at last season and think we didn’t win anything. It’s truebut If you look at how we played, we had 85 points at the end of the season, only three less than the year before, when they won the league“says the ‘citizen’.
He also recognizes the merit of the eternal rival, whose triumphs also overshadowed the panorama in Barcelona: “We were playing against a very difficult Real Madrid. In other circumstances things might have been different.“.
back home
Gündogan has returned to Manchester Citya place known to him, where he became a true legend, but a somewhat different situation has been found. “You know what it’s like when you leave and come back. Don’t be surprised if things are differentthe dynamics are different. You have to readjust and maybe find your role. “Things change, time has passed and you have to fit in again.”the light blue ’19’ has declared.
Something that has changed is the rival for the titles. For many years, Gündogan had to fight with Klopp’s Liverpool for the English Premiership and Cups, but now the candidate is another, Arteta’s Arsenal. “It’s a bit different to the rivalry with Liverpool because of the way the teams play.Arsenal is much more like our game than Klopp’s Liverpool“, says Ilkay.
Gunners y citizens They will face each other on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.in what could be a very important clash for the future of the Premier League. The German midfielder is clear about what the keys could be: “Both clubs know each other very well and will be prepared for each other. Whoever does the small and important things better will be the best. The margins are small“.
