“Yes to ‘Ney’, we want to get the best”

Sergi Roberto inaugurated the status of the first captain twelve years after his debut in the first team and the eighteen in the club of his life. The official season is about to start, he attends Mundo Deportivo.

We are in preview of the premiere in LaLiga, where they defend the title, in the field of Getafe. How will they deal with it?

In intense desire and illusion. I hope we can repeat the title. What we really want is to compete.

Did you play at Montjuïc before last Tuesday?

Not in Barça, but in the Catalan team yes.

How is the Gamper experience?

When there is something new, everything is strange, different. It will take a few games to feel at home, as the Camp Nou does not. This will be our home this season and half of the next, little by little we have to make it our own

From the grass, do you feel the same heat from the public?

Nope. All fields with an athletics track are further away from the fans, especially the Goals. In the Tribuna and Lateral you are closer, but you also notice the public in the distance. Besides, Montjuïc is a very open stadium. That’s why we need it to be full every game, to feel the heat of the fans.

Playing in an Olympic stadium must bring back memories of the Berlin final for you and Ter Stegen, right?

Yes, we both stayed and the Estadi Olímpic brings back great memories. Hopefully it will bring us good times too.

What sensations did you have when you boarded the bus and faced the public as the captain?

It was a moment of pride above all as a culé that I was born. Being the first captain of the first team is something very special. I will never forget the moment of climbing the floor, like lifting Gamper, even though it was not an official competition. Lifting the trophy as the first team captain for me was a very special moment that I will always remember. I consider it an award for an eighteen-year career at the club. This is said quickly, but it means that more than half of my life has been spent here, at the club. I am very proud to have achieved this.

How many titles were eliminated at the end of the season that you would consider good?

As they always say, we fight for everything, but let’s not fool ourselves: lifting the Champions League will be special.

Do you feel like you’re a bit of an older brother to a lot of players who are twelve or thirteen years older than you?

Yes, it feels like that. I know what it means to be where they are, I debuted young. I try to be with them always, help them all the time. We have a very young team, with great enthusiasm. Many players have won several titles. I try to be close to them, to the home players. We have a very good group of players and people with great enthusiasm. I was lucky to be a captain, and also well accompanied by the captain. We are a very good group.

What did your teammates see in Araujo and Frenkie, the last two to join the group of captains?

They are two of the longest lasting players and apart from that they are very important to the team on the field and off. Ronald has such a character, so important, and Frenkie is so respected. They are two main pieces.

You made your debut at the Bernabéu in the semifinals of the Champions League…

In Champions yes; in the Cup, he made his debut in Ceuta.

Did you think at that time in 2011 to be the team captain in 2023?

I always thought of myself here for many years, this is the club of my life, where I want to succeed. It is very difficult to succeed here, it is based on work, perseverance. In good times it’s about continuing to work hard and in bad times it’s about moving forward, fighting and working. Since I arrived at Barça at the age of 14, one of my virtues has been hard work and perseverance and I continue to do so to this day.

You won many titles. Is it hard to stay motivated?

Not in my case, because this is the club of my life, the club I love and the club where I want to keep winning points and, above all, where I have a lot of respect. That’s why I keep working. Every day when I get up and come to train, it’s what I love to do the most, so I’m lucky and it’s what motivates me. And every year there are new challenges. Being the first captain, for example, is a new challenge. And you meet new coaches, players competing for your position. There are always new motivations.

Is the current squad similar to your debut, in 2011?

1. They say we have many quarries, many young people. For a few years the same has somewhat disappeared, but now it is seen again that we are many at home. That’s why I remember Pep’s team. It was a relatively short group and there were a lot of people from the quarry.

One difference is that Messi is absent. Do you want to come back?

Yes, definitely. Ultimately, Leo is the best player in the world and in history. It would be a great honor to be with him again, besides there is no better player than him. I’m sure he’s helped us win titles and as a friend he’s excited for me.

And Neymar?

Yes. I always have a special love for Ney because of everything we experienced at the club. Besides, I think he is a very differential player. With the departure of ‘Ouss’, players of this talent are very important, but this is something that must be decided by the sports management, the coach and the president. I love him a lot and we want the best players in our squad.

You have Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Busi as your captain. Do you have someone with you?

No, all five are legends.

Identify them in a virtue of each: Puyol

The work, the strength.

Xavi

The class, a coach is a player.

iniesta

Humility.

Messi

The best, the leader, number one.

Sergio Busquets

Great friend, because he’s the one I’ve been with the longest. I can also say that teacher, who makes the difficult easy. He is also a coach on the field, he does many things.

Are you tempted to go to Inter Miami?

Nope. I see it from afar, following my colleagues and my friends. I’ve always said that MLS is a competition I want to play in the future. I really want to go to the United States… in a few years. At the moment I am enjoying from home.

How do you see the new signings?

Iñigo has not been in the group yet, but I have known him from the national team for many years and he is a good centre-back; Ori and Gundogan have already shown what they are capable of. I had Ori as a teammate in the lower categories and when his name started to sound I had no doubt that he would adapt fast and be very important to us.

You’ve been an insider all your life in grassroots football, but you’ve established yourself in the first team as a winger. Do you feel bad that every season there is so much talk about signing a right-back?

Not really, in the end I play on the wing, in midfield, inside… As I told Ney, I want this team to have the best team possible. If the technical secretariat considers that we need to sign a winger, or any other player, welcome. If one side comes, welcome; you have to use it to grow yourself and become better.

Xavi defended him too much last season. Do you feel that we do not respect them?

Not that I read a lot, but in the end it all comes down to you. It just bothered me more than anything that there was so much talk about the time I was injured, about the rectum. I was almost in a weak state throughout Koeman’s time, because I was injured, came back, kept playing sick… I know that I am not at my best level because physically I am not in good shape and from the outside the people continued. talk bad It turns into a ball and has a bad time. In addition, there was the issue of the economy and the captains, where there was also noise. Many things came together that ultimately affected me. But after so many years here you know that when they are good you have to stay and when you are bad, you improve. The bad is forgotten and now ready to enjoy what is to come.

What has Barça been missing in the Champions League for the past two years?

The groups have to pass, because I think we deserve it. It’s true that in the end if you don’t pass it’s your fault if you don’t add points, but we were close. We came from a couple of years where we didn’t play well. Last year we took a step further and got closer.

What would be a reasonable goal?

I would say that winning it, I really believe that we have a team to win the Champions League. Inter Milan is a finalist and I think we are better than them. In the Champions League, anything can happen and we have a team that will fight for it.

And personally, what goals have you set?

Getting back in the best physical shape possible to compete at the highest level and help the coach where he needs me, on the sidelines, in the middle…

Do you know what it means to be ‘One Club Man’?

Yes.

You said you want to play in MLS, but don’t you want to be ‘One Club Man’?

I like it very much, it is very nice, but in the future I want to have an experience outside the club.