Xavi’s response made Oriol Romeu look good

There are several footballers who have written a book. Oriole Romeyou are one of them. The new signing of FC Barcelona published in December 2021 “The time of my life.” In that book, the Ulldecona midfielder tells his life in a diary during the 2020-21 season. There he personally undresses through football and shows the most human side of the footballer.

It is a book that reading today, almost three years later, still makes more sense. about everything he says Xavi Hernandezhis current coach to whom he almost dedicates a chapter of the book, when he talks about his first training session with the Barça first team.

He found himself in a rondo, where the ball was moving very fast. Normally, he is in the middle and outside they run him between Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. Almost nothing. “I felt a little frustrated when the training ended,” he admitted. But Oriol Romeu explained that Xavi started stretching next to him in the locker room. “He was always one of my idols, but the day I met him as a person he became an idol of reference.”

Over time, due to his ability for continuous improvement and self-criticism, oriole romeu, along with his analyst and coach Damià Esterlich, realized that at some moments in the game he relaxed too much and that caused him to hit some rather dangerous balls. And they looked for a reference, a player who was always active and made perfect decisions in 90 minutes. And Oriol thought about who is his coach now.

Instead of watching videos, oriole romeu wrote a message to Xavi. He had her number because the technician had written to him that summer. The man from Ulldecona does not say in his book, but he tried to take her to Al-Sadd in Qatar. In an extensive message, Oriol commented: “I looked for a player who was perfect in activation and concentration during the game as a reference, and I thought of you (···) How did you do it? Do you have a ritual?” And it ended with: “If you’re busy and you can’t answer, absolutely nothing will happen.”

The answer of Xavi It arrived the next day because of the time change. “I already have a ‘highlight’ of the month or even of the year. A message from Xavi talking about football, directed at me. Wow!” Romeu wrote in his book, where he also revealed the answer, very kind. About what the culé youth player asked him, then at Southampton, Xavi answered: “I have been a very responsible guy. I don’t want to fail. I will not fail. If I fail, I will whip myself. I am a very perfectionist. (···) Any ball is the last one he receives and he has to do it well. It is in my mind and in my whole life. (···) It’s more the feeling of responsibility, of saying: shit, I’m going to play the perfect match. And he’s done that in a rondo, in the game of possession, he’s given me individual challenges”. Xavi. He has put them on himself as a player.

AND oriole romeu he was left with Xavi’s “self-demand, sense of responsibility and habit of training”. “How lucky I am, to receive advice from a player like Xavi. I’m already on a pedestal, but after this message… What can I say!

In addition to Xaviin his book oriole romeu shows that he has other footballers with whom he reflects. “Recently I’ve been watching videos of players I like, like Xavi, Iniesta, Pirlo, Zidane, Busquets, Xabi Alonso… It helps me learn their moves and copy them (···) It seems very important to me to look at successful people”.

More than football Romeo discover some interior and intimacy. He removes himself from social networks because it is a world of envy and he spends time reading: if he can, two books a month. He is also fond of languages. He speaks Catalan and Spanish, is fluent in English and German and has studied French and Japanese. In fact, together with his partner they plan to go for two or three years to live in Japan in the future.

His grandfather was wise

But on a personal and football level, what he says about his grandparents is especially emotional. In the games in the hallway with his paternal grandfather, Jaume, or the advice he still keeps from his maternal grandfather, Pedro Vidal Solà, Ieié, a protagonist who channeled his passion for football. Four ideas he had as personal dogma. “When the referee blows his whistle, don’t waste time protesting, I’ve never seen a referee change their decision” or “before taking a penalty, take five breaths”. His grandfather also recommended that “when there is a conflict, stay away” and thus he has not been excommunicated. In addition, it ended with a criticism after the games: “Do you want me to tell you the truth or what you want to hear?” Although it was sometimes unpleasant to listen to him, Romeu always wanted the truth. And so, the journey of his life brought him back to boat.