Xavi: Barcelona are still hungry

Barcelona are still hungry, says Xavi

22-Jan-2013 3:50:00 AM

The 33-year-old believes the Blaugrana can triumph following last year's disappointment but says the team owe the fans nothing

Barcelona midfielder Xavi has reiterated that his side remain as hungry for success as ever following a "below-standard" campaign last season.

Guardiola's men finished nine points adrift of Liga champions Real Madrid and were sent crashing out of Europe in the semi-final by 10-man Chelsea.

But the World Cup winner insists his team-mates still have the "hunger" to make amends for last season's disappointment and says the side are regaining their best form.

"The hunger is still there," Xavi told FIFA.com.

"Watch us train and you realise how much we want to win, even in the practice matches. We’ve got practically the same squad this season and the results have been just about perfect.

"Last season things didn’t go our way, especially in the games against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and then the Camp Nou, where we had the tie in the bag only to let it slip.

“The same happened in the league. This year we’ve been turning those kinds of things our way, making every game count. My feeling is we were just a bit below our usual standard last season and we ended up paying for it."

The midfielder also dismissed the idea that the Blaugrana owe the fans for last year, but believes the team can draw on the disappointment of last season to inspire them to success again.

He added: “Do we owe something to the fans? No, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. We’ve already won a lot.

"I don’t feel we’re in debt to them because of one bad season. All it does is make us even more determined to start winning things again.”