Despite being away from the club, several FC Barcelona players were on the pitch last night with their national teams. The same will be the case tonight, as the qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2024 are also scheduled to take place this evening.
One of the players who got into the media headlines following his performance last night was the Portuguese Joao Felix.
The newly signed Barcelona player came onto the pitch for the match against Luxembourg in the 60th minute, but the thirty minutes afforded to him were enough for Felix to get his name on the scoresheet.
Cancelo on his incorporation at Barcelona
As already reported here, Felix spoke to the media after the match, in which he touched upon his incorporation at Barcelona and his objectives with the Catalan club.
His teammate, both in the national team and Barcelona, Joao Cancelo, also spoke to the same outlet, SPORT, last night after he also featured in the match against Luxembourg.
Regarding his incorporation at the new club, the Portuguese fullback commented:
“I’m going to do everything to thrive at Barcelona. I’ll try to showcase my football, and my quality, but always with the help of the team because I need it, and I believe we have a lot of quality in the squad. Hopefully, it will be a great season.”
Cancelo went on to identify a strong group spirit as an integral component for the club to win the biggest trophies:
“It’s a very young team; I already knew some like Ferran or Gündogan. Everyone welcomed me very well; they are fantastic guys. We can only achieve great things by forming a strong group.”
The former Manchester City player also shared that he was quite happy with Xavi’s methods, especially with the freedom that Xavi gives him on the pitch:
“The coach gives me some freedom, and I like that. I feel comfortable playing both inside and outside. I will adapt to whatever he asks of me.”
Barcelona’s chances in the Champions League
When asked about his feelings about playing his first home Barcelona game, Cancelo did not look too eager to play at the Montjuic but still thanked Barcelona fans for their trust in him:
“Whether it’s at Montjuïc or anywhere else, I always look forward to playing in the Barcelona shirt and showing the fans and the people who believed in me how difficult it was to come to Barcelona. I want to achieve great things with this club because it’s where I’ve always dreamed of being. It’s a dream club; all my friends know it: all my idols played for Barcelona.”
Lastly, the fullback was also asked about the team’s chances in the Champions League, to which he replied:
“It’s true that Barcelona hasn’t performed well in Europe in recent years, but it’s a very big club. We will try to get Barcelona back to the level it has always shown in the Champions League. At this moment, there are teams more favored than us. But we have a very good team, and we can achieve great things. The squad is young but very talented.”
Hopefully, Cancelo can contribute to this last objective of winning the Champions League, as he is a significant upgrade on the right flank for Barcelona. He is still getting adapted to his new surroundings, but there is no doubt about his quality, and that’s the reason Xavi wanted him in the squad this summer.
