Media

Barça boss Xavi admits media negativity is affecting his players

Published

1 year ago

November 13, 2023

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández says the negativity around the team has affected performances after his side came back from a goal down to beat Alavés 2-1 on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium.

Barça had lost two of their last three games prior to Alavés’ visit and were whistled off at half-time after Samu Omorodion gave the visitors a surprise lead after just 17 seconds.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the second half to keep Barça within four points of LaLiga leaders Girona, but the win did little to ease the pressure on Xavi’s under-performing team.

Xavi said his players have been affected by the negativity directed towards them from the media. Getty
“We started on the back foot,” Xavi said in his post-game news conference. “[Ilkay] Gündogan lost a ball he would not normally lose and there is a transition. We can’t allow these mistakes. It is unacceptable.

“We are gifting teams too many things. We have dropped points at Mallorca, Granada… We are giving too much away and it’s generating an insecurity among the players that is not good.

“At half-time, I told them to stay calm and that if we played our football, we would come back. The players were more tense than normal because of everything being generated around the team. And it is not fair.

“It is not fair because there have been injuries and players coming back. We have to be self-critical as well, but it’s normal that we don’t see the players at their best because they don’t feel liberated.”

After defeat to Real Madrid, a narrow win over Real Sociedad and a loss Shakhtar Donestsk in midweek, Barça have been subjected to intense criticism in the media. Xavi said that has hit the younger players epecially hard.

“Without doubt what the media say affects how the team plays,” he added. “The [media] create situations and scenarios that, for me, are not real. And it affects, without any doubt, the team.

“It happened to me as a player and it’s happening to my players. There is a negativity which is not good or positive at all.

“Above all, it affects the youngest players. You see [Iñigo] Martínez, Lewandowski, [João] Cancelo and Gundogan, it does not affect them. But we have a lot of youngsters and we have to protect them and give them confidence.

“[The performances] are our fault, of course, but the youngsters feel a tension that a month ago didn’t exist. It is a difficult situation that we have to manage, but it’s hard, especially after conceding an early goal.”

Samu, on loan at Alavés from Atlético Madrid, should have added to his opening goal. He missed three more big chances in the first-half before Barça turned things around after the break.

Lewandowski’s brilliant header from a Jules Koundé cross levelled the scores, with the Polish striker then netting the winner from the penalty spot in the 78th minute after substitute Ferran Torres had been fouled.

“I am sad,” Alavés coach Luis García said. “The key is the first half. We have to score two or three and not doing so changes the game. I am proud of the team, but we should have had a bigger lead at half.time.

“There is a big difference between the two sets of players and from there, individually, they can beat you. If you are not perfect in every aspect of the game, they beat you.”

Author

Ambrose Ijeh

View all posts

Media

How To Stream AC Milan vs Liverpool Match Online For Free

Published

2 months ago

September 17, 2024

Ambrose Ijeh

How To Stream AC Milan vs Liverpool Match Online For Free

An online streaming service has exclusive rights to the big Champions League match – but it’s easy to watch it for free.

Liverpool will be returning to the Champions League on Tuesday night, hoping to get back to winning ways on the opening night of the new campaign, facing old foes AC Milan.

The side, who previously faced Milan in the 2005 and 2007, suffered a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, so they will be hoping to get back to winning ways this week.

However, Milan have also had a tumultuous ride so far, with the team currently in 9th after four games, despite a solid 4-0 win over Venezia at the weekend.

It’s shaping up to be a thrilling match, then, with both teams having plenty to prove, and you can watch it for free on Amazon Prime Video.

Author

Ambrose Ijeh

View all posts

Media

LaLiga Signs 2024-25 Broadcast Deal With China Media Group

Published

2 months ago

September 11, 2024

Ambrose Ijeh

LaLiga Signs 2024-25 Broadcast Deal With China Media Group

Spanish soccer’s top-tier LaLiga has unveiled state-run China Media Group (CMG) as its official broadcast partner in the country.

Through a deal announced today, CMG returns as a Chinese broadcaster of the 20-team Spanish league.

The tie-up has come with the 2024-25 campaign already four matchdays in and follows a memorandum of understanding between the two parties in late July.

Last season (2023-24), LaLiga action was shown in China by the Migu streaming service, while rights for 2024-25 have also been snapped up by the iQiyi digital broadcaster.

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, has said: “China remains a key market for LaLiga, and we are thrilled to bring our league’s unique passion and excitement to Chinese fans through one of the most influential media platforms in the country.”

Over the last few weeks, LaLiga has been scrambling to add more partners to its stable of broadcasters for this season.

Earlier this month, a significant deal across numerous African markets was unveiled with SportyTV, while mid-August saw BeIN Sports extend its exclusive rights deals across the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Domestically, DAZN and Movistar are the main rights-holders through deals running between 2022 and 2027.

Sportcal

Author

Ambrose Ijeh

View all posts

Media

Belgium’s Pro League Launches Five-Season Domestic Rights Tender

Published

2 months ago

September 11, 2024

Ambrose Ijeh

Belgian soccer’s top-tier Pro League has gone to market with a domestic media rights tender for the five seasons between 2025 and 2030.

The tender was launched recently (September 9), and the Pro League is being strategically supported by the heavyweight IMG agency – through a deal unveiled last October – during the process.

The deadline for prospective rights-holders to submit bids is October 16, with a Pro League general assembly to then evaluate the bids on October 18.

Interested parties can obtain the tender documents by contacting tender2025@proleague.be.

The 16-team Pro League’s domestic and international rights are currently held by global sports streaming service DAZN – which acquired previous rights-holder Eleven Sports in 2023 – in a five-year deal running through the 2024-25 season. Eleven tapped sports agency Mediapro to distribute international rights in partnership with the league.

In total, eight rights packages are available for purchase – three specifically for the Pro League (others cover the second-tier Challenger Pro League and various domestic cup competitions).

A new development in this tender is that the packages are platform-neutral, meaning they cover both linear and streaming rights.

In terms of kick-off times for games across the five seasons covered by the tender, meanwhile, the Pro League has said these “remain virtually unchanged.”

IMG, meanwhile, also has a contract in place to collect and commercialize the Pro League’s fastpath data in a five-year agreement with European Leagues running from 2022-23 to 2027-28.