Raphinha: 'We have a great opportunity'

One of the big stories for Barça this season has undoubtedly been Raphinha. The Brazilian has been playing at a sky-high level, having massively stepped up, while also taking the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband in many games in his stride. He is a leader on the pitch, and one of the most trusted voices to speak for the team, as he did during the pre-match press conference for the Spanish Super Cup semi-final (kick-off 8.00pm CET 08/01), which took place at the ground hosting the matches, the King Abdullah Sports City stadium.

Rested after a knock

And having precisely won the Super Cup for his first trophy as a blaugrana, Raphinha explained that it "can bring them confidence. We have a great opportunity to win a trophy." Having not been at Barbastro for the first game of the year, the attacker explained that "I'd been carrying a knock for months, we decided I should rest, but I am fine, and hope to help the team in these matches."

The opponent's threats

The first of the two matches he wants to play is the semi-final against Athletic Club. He went on to say that they are aware "of their quality, and the potential of players like Nico or Iñaki Williams, but we hope to play our best game to stop them and win." It would be the first sign that the drop off in results towards the end of 2024 is over. A bad run that is still hard to explain.

Bringing Barça to everyone

"It's hard to say why. You can't be at 100% the entire season, sometimes you aren't as good, and that's what happened to us at the end of the year, but we played good games, and now we have to get back to a winning dynamic", he defended. And he wants this winning dynamic to start in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where he said "we have many fans, and being able to play live for them is very special. We know how hard it is for an Arabian fan to go to Barcelona, and it's exciting being able to come here. We can only thank them for their affection and give our best to win."

Positive messages about Olmo and Pau Víctor

Affection he also showed towards Pau Víctor and Dani Olmo, about whom he mentioned that it "is a complicated situation. For them, and for us. We are trying to make it less difficult for them and we hope it ends up being resolved. The information from the Club is positive and we have to wait."