Aitana Bonmatí, in GOAL: “We don’t depend on a single player, our success is due to the team as a whole”

I would like to know how you rate your season, but also Barcelona’s season as a team?

I think we’re having a great season. We have only lost one game, against Bayern in the Champions League. I think we are a very ambitious team that wants to get better every year and be better than the year before. I am also very ambitious personally. I want to be the best version of myself every year and improve every year.

You say that Barca are always trying to improve. How do you think the team has improved this year?

We have a very large and good staff. We have a lot of good players and a lot of different options. We can have different lineups and when things get tough we have substitutes who can change the game. We have different roles in different positions. I think we have a very complete team this year, more complete than last year.

Yes, you have players like Salma who make a big impact…

Yes, Salma, Geyse, they give us different things. Also Lucy and Keira. I think we have a very new team this year because of the number of transfers we have made. It may have been a little difficult for them at first. It’s normal because here at Barça we train and play very differently and you have to learn a lot of things that are complicated if you’ve never trained here. But now we’ve been playing together for nine months, so the newbies have adapted and we’re a really good team.

Are you trying to help new players? Because you know very well what Barça is.

[Risas] Yes, I’m happy to help them. I also talk to Keira a lot because she doesn’t understand Spanish. Lucy understands more because her father is Portuguese, so she understands more than Keira. In the beginning I tried to help Keira a lot. Now, only sometimes when you don’t understand something. With Geyse, for example, I’m here to help her, because I’ve been playing for Barça since I was 13 years old. I have been here for 11 years, I know the club very well and also the style of play.

I want to ask you about the defeat against Bayern Munich, as Barcelona usually don’t lose many games. What did you learn from that defeat?

It was strange for us because we are not used to losing games, but this happens in football. Last year we also lost to Wolfsburg in their stadium. We also lost to Lyon in the final of Turin. This is football, I think defeats are necessary to keep improving. I try to see losses as an opportunity to keep improving and see what we can improve on. For us, that game was for that, to say to ourselves, ‘Okay, not everything is so good. We’re going to see where we’ve failed and we’re going to improve.” We haven’t lost since that game and I hope we can keep going. But Bayern are also a very good team and I think we were not good in the defensive transition in that game. When we lost the ball we were not careful to press quickly and they played a lot of long balls… That was not our best game. Bayern is a good team with good players.

You mentioned Turin, the Champions League final. Do you think about it a lot and how much did it hurt? Does that motivate you more to win the Champions League this year?

Each year is different from the previous. When we start the season, as a team we have goals and objectives, such as winning the league, the cup, the Champions League. Now we can make it happen. Last year we didn’t make it because the opponent played very well and Lyon… it’s Lyon! The way last year in the Champions League was very good. I think we played very good games, but in the final we didn’t play our best football and they were very successful, so they deserved the trophy. This year is a new opportunity. Our goal is to win the Champions League and we are already in the semi-final against Chelsea. It’s a new chance and we want to win. It’s the fifth successive semi-final for us so we’re doing really well and we’re going to Stamford Bridge to get a good result and we’ll see what happens at Camp Nou.

It is clear that a very important player is missing this season, Alexia. Was it strange for you not to have her by your side in midfield? Because you’ve been playing together for a long time.

Yes, Alexia, Patri and I have been playing together for a long time. We know each other a lot. Alexia is a great footballer and it shows in the team. It was complicated at first because Patri, Alexia and I know each other a lot, but then we had to move on. Keira Walsh has arrived and we also have several players that can play indoors such as [Claudia] Pina and Mariona [Caldentey]. We have several options. This is what makes our team better, we don’t depend on just one player. I think we are a good team because we have a lot of good pieces, not just one. Our success is due to the entire team.

You said you have a very good team. Many teams wouldn’t be as good if they lost the winner of the Ballon d’Or. But this shows how good Barca are as a whole.

I agree with that. We are not dependent on just one player. We are a good team and we have a good team. We have many options that make us a better team.

I spoke to Caroline Graham Hansen after the Champions you won. She said Spanish players or Spanish league players don’t get enough recognition like awards and things like that. Do you think players like Caro, like Mapi, like Patri, like you deserve more recognition? Because there are great players in Barcelona.

I don’t like to talk about these things because it doesn’t depend on the players, you know? What I can say is that our goal, our job, is to do better every day, to be the best team. If you are the best team and you play well and win everything, you might have a better chance of getting it. We don’t need to focus on this because it depends on many things. If something has to come, it will come, but I prefer to focus on winning as a team and winning the Champions League, winning the league, winning. [Risas] And then we’ll see.

Earlier you mentioned your ambition and desire to improve. Looks like you’ve changed things up this season. What were your activities in the past? Do you think you have improved something this year?

I think I have a different role in the team this year, because last year the coach told me I had to be in the construction at the power stations to help get the ball out. Now, this year, that role is played by Keira and Patri and I’m in a more offensive position. I’m not much of a box-to-box player, although I consider myself a player who always defends. If I have to go to my area to defend, I go. But maybe in the build-up of the game I have a more attacking position at the moment. I’m closer to the box, so I have more chances, I score more goals and I give more assists. My role has changed this year.

Have you improved things for your new role?

Yes, I am learning things when I am closer to the area that I was not used to last year. I scored a lot of goals with my left foot, which I didn’t do last year. I will try to improve that aspect because if you can shoot with both feet you are better. Besides, I’m short [risas], but I also try to help the team with defensive tasks in all parts of the field. Three or four years ago I decided that if I wanted to be a complete player, I had to do these things too. Not only score and provide assists, but also perform defensive duties to help the team.

You played against Chelsea in the Champions League final two years ago and you played a very good game. What are your fondest memories of that triumph?

Winning the trophy was incredible because it was the first time in history we’ve done it. It was a very good match. I also think we were very effective because we had four chances and scored four goals. I also scored a goal in the final, a good team goal, because that was after a lot of passes. This game was incredible, we were very good. We were very effective, that was very important. I remember Chelsea also had chances in the beginning, but they didn’t hit and the game was ours.

Is that the favorite moment of your career?

Yes, it was a dream come true. It is very difficult to win a Champions League.

Do you expect Chelsea to be a different team this year?

Yes, I always say that every game is different. In addition, the teams improve and have different players. I think Chelsea are a good team and they are going to do other things. For example, they have new players like Lauren James. It won’t be the same party.

What do you think Barça should do to reach the final?

We have to play with our style, have the ball, and with the ball we are going to create chances and we are also going to make it more complicated for the opponent. It will be an equal match. It will be hard to have 20-25 chances like in other games. We have to be effective, very focused on scoring and also be careful with counter-attacks. I think they are comfortable with long passes and running because Chelsea are not a team that are comfortable with the ball. They feel comfortable having the space and running towards our target, so we will have to be very focused on that. Very focused on Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr and Lauren James who are the kind of players who can. We are working on these aspects. I think it will be two good matches and even matches. These are the games every footballer wants to play, even on a big stage. Stamford Bridge, at our club, is a great stage. We have good memories of the goal Andrés Iniesta scored in this stadium, a very important goal for the club. So I think we can make history there as well.

I want to ask you about Lauren James since you mentioned her twice. Have you seen her play a lot? She is a very fun player to watch.

I said Lauren James, but I could also mention Sam Kerr, Guro Reiten or Erin Cuthbert. It’s attacking players who can make the difference. I didn’t know her before because she didn’t play much but now she plays as a starter for Chelsea. He has a lot of power and can clear the ball well. She has good qualities and we know them, just like the other players in the team.

What would it mean to reach the Champions League final again and have a chance to win the trophy after what happened last year?

First I want to play at Stamford Bridge and Camp Nou and see how we feel. I don’t want to think about things that aren’t there yet. I want to focus on this Saturday first, then Thursday and then we’ll see. The goal is clear: to reach the final.