Ivan Rakitic: "In maturity I have returned to my origins"

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Rakitic poses in the sports city of Sevilla.PACO PUENTES (EL PAÍS)

Ivan Rakitic (Rheinfelden, Switzerland; 34 years old) is one of the captains of Sevilla and one of the top references in the Andalusian team's dressing room.

The Croatian midfielder, a former Barça player, attends EL PAÍS in the preview of Barcelona-Seville (9:00 p.m., Movistar), a fight for second place in the standings.

Ask.

How does football look like at 34?

Answer.

I have had a very interesting career, I have been able to experience many things and win many titles.

Now I am in the moment in which I enjoy the most.

Every morning I feel a great joy to be able to go to the sports city, to see how Sevilla continues to grow.

I'm enjoying like a kid.

I have had the opportunity to learn from many people, from many coaches, to progress and also to make mistakes.

P.

Do you still feel the passion for football that your father instilled in you?

A.

Well yes.

What I feel for this sport was taught to me by my father since I was little.

I love football.

That's where it all started.

Now, after four days off, returning to the sports city, to feel the grass, is something very special.

I love the routine, the rhythm of football.

I feel in maturity as if I were going back to my origins.

P.

How do you assess the negative performance of Sevilla in this second round?

R.

What is happening to us this season is strange.

Injuries are part of work and sport, but so many... We haven't been able to work as we should and in the face of so many difficulties we have reacted as a team and with a lot of effort.

We have believed in ourselves despite so many adversities.

We are at an important moment, we must recover the confidence to face some games that are complicated, but that we are going to face with enormous enthusiasm.

P.

How do you explain that you have not been injured by the plague that your team has suffered?

R.

In six years at Barcelona I only had one muscle injury.

There is no secret, I think the key is to take great care of yourself and understand when it is necessary to rest and when to take care of yourself a little more than normal.

I'm fine, I feel very strong, with a lot of confidence in the muscular aspect.

You have to make many sacrifices and sometimes it hurts to make a series of decisions, but in the end it's worth it because people fall one after another and I feel good.

What's more, as the season progresses I feel better and better.

Q.

Why does Sevilla perform worse away from home?

R.

And at home we have also had game problems.

We have had a series of draws away that have been lost due to small details.

They are small details, but it is true that we have to play better.

Also at home.

What has become clearer to me in football over the years is that this sport is about scoring and not forgiving.

If you can do it playing well, perfect, but football is winning.

We have to analyze why it is costing us so much to win.

There are definitely the injuries, but I think football has also been tough on us.

I feel that Sevilla needs to cool down.

P.

Do you understand the criticism that is poured on Julen Lopetegui and that there is a sector of the fans that doubts his continuity?

R.

In Europe many inexplicable things happened to us.

We were punished with very little, especially in the Champions League, and after that elimination some criticism began.

But our trust in the coach is absolute.

I don't understand how you can talk about the continuity or not of Lopetegui.

Knowing the coach, he will take doubts about him as motivation.

We are behind the coach one hundred percent.

I talk a lot with him, about everything, he has things very clear.

We are both crazy about football.

Q.

Has Sevilla missed a good opportunity to fight for the League?

A.

If we had had the entire squad competing, we don't know what would have happened.

I'm a bit sorry I didn't check it out.

We would still have fought for the League like last year.

There are many games left and we are going to give everything to defend second place.

But you have to be clear.

Our real goal is to be in the top four, although second is not the same as fourth.

Sevilla has come a long way in recent years, we have grown a lot and we have the challenge ahead of us to qualify three times in a row for the Champions League via the League.

It would be the first time in our history and that has a lot of value.

P.

What do you think of the figure of Xavi and his role in the metamorphosis of this Barcelona?

R.

Xavi was already playing coach.

I remember perfectly the year I shared with him at Barcelona and you could already see it.

I learned from Xavi on the pitch and off it.

On trips, at meals, in talks with colleagues... Living with Xavi was a daily learning experience.

Xavi has managed to create a positive atmosphere around the club because there is no person who knows that environment better.

From the outset, moreover, he had the trust of former teammates such as Busquets, Piqué and Jordi Alba.

But he is also a great worker, he only thinks of his team night and day and I am very happy for him.

My past is there, they were six incredible years and I wish Xavi and Barcelona the best.

P.

Did you talk a lot about football that year of the treble?

R.

Yes, constantly.

If they sit Xavi and me at a table to talk about football, it would take us a long time to get up from it.

Rakitic, in the sports city of Seville. PACO PUENTES (EL PAÍS)

P.

How do you see Pedri?

R.

We all know the quality it has.

I think that what Pedri would most appreciate is that we don't put more pressure on him, that we let him play.

He can do great things, but the most important thing is to leave him alone, to enjoy himself, to do it his way... It will be very nice to face him.

Q.

How do you analyze Messi's current situation at PSG?

R.

I know Leo.

I would have liked him to have retired at Barcelona.

It is part of the shield and the history of that club, the one that has marked Barcelona itself the most during his time as a footballer.

I was not expecting that change.

But what would we have said if he won the Champions League with PSG in his first year?

I don't think it's wrong.

PSG have never had a player like Leo in their history and unfortunately the results are not going as expected.

I think you can't doubt him yet.

We had some amazing years together, I wish him the best and I'm sure his magic will live on for a while.

Q.

How will the World Cup in Qatar fit in in November?

R.

It will be rare for the competition to stop and for it to be held in the fall.

I will no longer be with Croatia and nobody knows very well what those of us who are left without playing will do when the League stops shortly after it starts.

I will enjoy it from the outside and I will like to attend to those who want to know my opinion.

It will be a World Cup with more quality, I think, very disputed, without any clear favorite selection.

We have seen it in the qualifying phase, in which a team like Italy has been left out.

Of course, the teams will not have much time to prepare for the World Cup with their teams.

They will have a competitive rhythm, although without the automatisms of each team, which is something that is achieved with two or three weeks of preparation.

Q.

You know Luis Enrique well.

What do you expect from Spain?

R.

What Luis Enrique has done with the Spanish team is outrageous.

He is one of the best coaches I have had in my career, without a doubt.

Spain with Luis Enrique is going to fight for great things.

He is one of the favorites, without a doubt.

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