RIYADH: Xavi Hernandez praised the warm welcome that Barcelona have received in Saudi Arabia as his side look to win back-to-back Spanish Super Cup finals against rivals Real Madrid in Riyadh.
The Barcelona manager this time last year guided his team to a 3-1 El Clasico victory over Real Madrid in the Saudi Arabian capital city. And after beating CA Osasuna 2-0 in their semifinal on Thursday, Xavi says Barcelona are determined to retain the Spanish Super Cup and win the competition for the 15th time in their history — more than any other club.
The El Clasico final takes place at Al-Nassr’s Al-Awwal Park on Sunday at 10 p.m. Saudi Arabian time.
Speaking at the pre-final press conference, Xavi said: “We are here in Saudi Arabia and all the time everybody respects us, and everybody supports us. We are very happy to be here, and I think Saudi football is going to improve a lot in the coming years because they have everything in order to have the best players in the world.
“An El Clasico match with such intensity as this cannot be predicted and its outcome will be played out on the field. We will compete for a cup that we won last year, and last year we played excellently. We will show our opponents that we are hungry and excited to win, but playing against Real Madrid is always a strong match and we will give everything we have to win the title.
“We do not focus on one player in Real Madrid because they have many excellent players, led by Jude Bellingham, who is performing at a great level.”
Barcelona’s goals at Al-Awwal Park on Thursday came from Robert Lewandowski and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who came off the bench to net in injury time and seal the result. Xavi has no doubts of Yamal’s talents, regardless of whether he starts or is asked to come on as a substitute.
“Yamal is a great player and we want to see his potential and skills, and this depends on the game situation,” Xavi said.
Real Madrid earned their place in this year’s Spanish Super Cup final by defeating city rivals Atletico Madrid 5-3 in Wednesday’s semifinal in Riyadh, and the Barcelona manager took the opportunity to praise his opposition counterpart Carlo Ancelotti at the press conference.
Xavi added: “Ancelotti is one of the best managers in the world and has succeeded in all the places in which he has coached. He is a role model for coaches and a great coach.”
This year’s Spanish Super Cup — the fourth time the tournament has been played in Saudi Arabia — is the latest illustration of the Kingdom’s commitment to host the very best international events across all sports, with football at the forefront.
Last year’s Barcelona win was preceded by Real Madrid beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in Riyadh in 2022 and Los Blancos defeating Atletico Madrid on penalties in Jeddah in the first tournament on Saudi soil in 2020.
Xavi ‘very happy to be in Saudi Arabia’ as Barcelona aim to retain Spanish Super Cup in another El Clasico
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Xavi ‘very happy to be in Saudi Arabia’ as Barcelona aim to retain Spanish Super Cup in another El Clasico
- The Spanish champions play Real Madrid in the final at Al-Awwal Park on Sunday
- “Yamal is a great player and we want to see his potential and skills, and this depends on the game situation,” Xavi said
UAE dethrone Algeria as Jordan edge Iraq to reach Arab Cup semi-finals
- Jordan repeat Asian Cup triumph over Iraq with a 1-0 victory, Ali Olwan scoring from the spot for the 4th time in 4 consecutive matches
- UAE end Algeria’s reign as Arab Cup champions with a 7-6 penalty-shootout win after the game ends 1-1
DOHA: The UAE and Jordan booked their places in the Arab Cup semi-finals on a dramatic day of quarter-final action in which the defending champions were eliminated and a regional rivalry was renewed.
Jordan repeated their Asian Cup triumph over Iraq with another narrow victory, as Ali Olwan extended his remarkable streak of scoring from the spot to four consecutive matches.
His first-half penalty was the only goal in a cagey encounter with few clear-cut chances for either side. Jordan dominated early on but were dealt a blow when star forward Yazan Al-Naimat was forced off with a knee injury.
Iraq improved after the break, with the talismanic Ali Jasim injecting a sense of urgency and twice drawing smart saves from Yazeed Abulaila, first with a fierce long-range strike and then a driven effort moments later.
Jordan nearly sealed the victory with a second goal late on when Mohannad Abu Taha, who scored with a spectacular long-range strike earlier in the tournament, hammered another powerful attempt just wide.
Nevertheless, the Jordanians held firm to set up a semi-final clash with Saudi Arabia on Monday.
The second quarter-final delivered even more drama, as the UAE ended Algeria’s reign as Arab Cup champions with a sudden-death, penalty-shootout win.
Algeria dominated the opening half and twice found the net, only for both goals to be ruled out. They finally made their pressure count just 50 seconds after the restart, when Adil Boulbina fired home after Yacine Brahimi’s strike was parried into his path.
The UAE had struggled to gain a foothold in the game but hit back through Bruno, who converted a pinpoint, inswinging cross from Yahya Al-Ghassani midway through the second half.
As Algeria pressed for a winner they were nearly punished at the end of regulation time when Lucas Pimenta’s fine header forced a sharp save from Farid Chaal.
Extra time offered chances for Brahimi and substitute Zakaria Draoui to put Algeria ahead again, but the breakthrough never came.
And so to the shootout, in which the UAE goalkeeper, Hamad Almeqbaali, denied Mohammed Khacef before Richard Akonnor coolly dispatched the decisive kick to make it 7-6 on penalties and set up a semi-final clash with Morocco, also on Monday.
