With the FIFA World Cup 2022 set to get underway in a few days, Spain named their squad for the tournament on Friday. And a total of seven Barcelona players made the cut with as many as five of them set to participate in their first-ever World Cup.
One such Barça superstar, Pedri, sat down for a candid interview with MARCA, during which he discussed a myriad of topics ranging from his favourite World Cup moments to his career ambitions, as well as his coaches at the club and international levels.
Barça Universal brings to you excerpts from Pedri’s interview with MARCA.
On his feelings ahead of the World Cup: “Well, a lot of joy and a lot of enthusiasm for being in a tournament that is played every four years and that gives everyone a lot of joy. I really want everything to start.”
On whether he is nervous: “Not at the moment. It is true that when I made my debut with the national team I did have those nerves from the beginning, but I now am much calmer and I don’t have those nerves. I know what I’m capable of.”
On his rapid rise in international football: “Everything has gone very fast since I debuted in Las Palmas, but I have adapted very well and I am enjoying football and everything.”
On his first memory of the World Cup: “I especially remember the one we won, the one that everyone remembers, the one with Andrés’ goal. I wish there could be another one like this.”
“I was eight years old. I was with my family in a hotel in Tenerife and when Andrés scored the goal it was crazy. We all jumped and cried with emotion. Hopefully, we can give the fans more happiness like that.”
On his childhood dream: “I dreamed of being a footballer, but I never imagined that I could reach here. Today I am lucky to be here.”
On being compared to Andres Iniesta: “In the world of football there are always comparisons and every time a new player comes out they try to compare him, but I have to make my career. Iniesta is an incredible player and I pay attention to him in many things, but I know that I have to be Pedri.
On his interactions with Iniesta: “Yes, I have spoken with him. In-person I have never had the opportunity to meet him, but on Instagram, we have spoken several times. When I had the injuries he wrote to me to tell me to be calm and that I recover well.”
On his calmness: “I do not do any type of training or work to be calm, outside and inside the field I am like that. I think it is due to my family, which has always instilled in me that way of living since I was little.”
On whether he will have the spotlight on him as Spain’s star player: “Really not, we already saw in the European Championship that we came a long way for being a great team. The team weighs much more than a single player.”
On if he will wear the No. 10 jersey at the World Cup: “It is a number that I like, but if there are people with more matches who want it, they have to wear it. Nothing happens.”
On whether the World Cup star on the Spain shirt is a burden: “The star does not weigh so much, at least for me. It’s a nice memory and hopefully, we can put another star so that the shirt weighs more for future generations.”
On marking Luka Modric in the game against Croatia: “When I got to the talk and he told me that I had to be on top of Modric, I told myself: ‘I can’t leave even once’. I tried to keep him quiet as much as possible. Luka is a spectacular player, who is very difficult to stop and I tried to do my best.”
On what he likes most about Luis Enrique: “Above all, the way of transmitting things. He can tell you to jump off a cliff, but he tells you in such a way that he convinces you that you have to do it and that it’s going to be okay.”
“He always gives us specific messages so that we know what we have to do. If you give a very long message, the player can make a mistake or end up thinking something else. He is the other way around, he tells us the things that have to be done and he also tells us what is going to happen. And then it turns out that he is right.”
On his physical transformation over the past year: “The time that I was injured was very good for me to work in the gym. I know that I have to work more, although now it is more difficult because of the calendar. I know it’s something I don’t have to stop.”
On what he would wish if he had Alladin’s lamp: ” I would ask for much more goals.”
On whether he is obsessed with scoring more: “It is not an obsession, although it is true that in the national team I have not scored yet. It is something that I know I have to improve and I hope that the first goal will come in the World Cup.”
On who among Xavi and Luis Enrique push him to score more: “My brother, my brother always. The two coaches also tell me that I have to score more goals.”
On whether he needs a bet with his manager like Federico Valverde: “Yes, well… Fede is playing at a higher level now, but it is clear that he is a good example. I have to improve in that aspect.”
On Spain’s group: “It is a complicated group. Now all the teams are very well prepared and it is a difficult group. Everything is very even. Look at France, who won the World Cup and Nations League and then lately…”
On whether Spain can win the World Cup: “It is difficult to say this before starting, you have to see yourself in the situation. We have a good team and we have to go for it.”
On who he thinks are favourites: “Brazil and Argentina are two spectacular teams…”
On Lionel Messi: “I think Messi deserves a World Cup. Hopefully, we win it, but if Spain don’t win it, let him win it with Argentina.”
On who would he like to face in the World Cup: “I dream of playing the final. I would like a game against Argentina for Leo or against the Netherlands for Frenkie.”
On his mental preparation: “If something different has to be done, I do not know, because I have not done anything. I try to enjoy myself and be prepared to do my best.”
On whether he was afraid of getting injured before World Cup: “No, I have always thought that if you go with fear in the end you end up injuring yourself. It is better to go one hundred percent. If you go at half throttle then the injury can happen.”
The players whose videos he likes to watch: “Well, above all the players who play in my position. De Bruyne is a spectacular player, for example. iniesta, I have already said it many times. Of people of that quality.”
On whose shirt he would like to ask for: “Neymar, because I think he has a lot of quality and that he does what he wants with the ball. I’ve never had a chance to own one of his.”
His message to the fans: “We are going to work hard on the field, we are going to be a group and we are going to defend this shirt with everything. They should be calm and everything will be fine.”
