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Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has given his thoughts on the ‘gardener’ nickname that the Madrid press have given him, admitting that he actually finds it funny.
The Barcelona manager was nicknamed the ‘gardener’ by Madrid-based outlets after his comments on the state of the pitch at Getafe’s home turf for the club’s disappointing 0-0 draw recently.
“The pitch held us back,” he said. “We expected it, we trained on a dry pitch on Saturday. It is difficult to play here and it is not good for the spectacle. The ball gets stuck, it’s even bad for Getafe.”
Following that utterance, the Madrid press were keen to poke fun at Xavi, something that the Barcelona boss has taken in good faith.
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“It makes me laugh,” he revealed. “That’s from many years though. I’m not going to stop. Better a gardener than anything else. I take it as a joke, honestly. Let them call me that for many more years. I won’t stop.
“I think in a few years time we will throw our hands on our head and say ‘my God, what were we doing when we didn’t have added time, or when the pitch was waterlogged, or when the grass was like that.’ I won’t stop until football is more fair for everyone. No matter how many years they call me ‘gardener’.”
Barcelona will look to move on step closer to winning their first La Liga title in four years when they face off against Rayo Vallecano in mid-week. Xavi’s side are currently a whopping 11 points clear of closest rivals Real Madrid after 30 games.
