Marc Bartra expecting to become key

Marc Bartra is eager to start his third season at Barcelona as part of the first team. Born in 1991, in Sant Jaume dels Domenys, he is convinced this will be his first "big" year at the club, as a key part of Luis Enrique's plans. 

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I am sorry - your holidays are over.

After two months of holiday one wants to get back to training and enjoy the day to day life with the rest of their team-mates. I've missed them a bit. 

Have you disconnected from last season and forgotten the bad moments at the end?

The bottom line is that we are physically rested and have recovered psychologically. The whole team was emotional last season. Too many things happened on a sporting and non-sporting level. It was very hard. Too much pressure. 

Many players have left and there are a lot of new faces...

New faces always signify changes and we have lost important players who had great quality and made the club what it was. 

Renovation or revolution?

That's not important. To judge the signings from outside, I can say the team has incorporated youth and players hungry for titles. 

Training hasn't started and there are already seven new players. 

We will have many new faces, but it appears, from what we've seen and heard, we may be missing one central defender. 

What does it take to be a central defender for the club?

It is not easy to play in defence for this club. It is not about being a better or worse footballer, but to have very specific characteristics. Besides knowing how to defend, you need to live with continuous risk, get the ball back, be quick...

I understand but the club have been looking for two years and have just used players from the youth academy and moving Javier Mascherano.

The advantage of the youth academy is that we have played with this system since childhood, and it shows. For us it comes naturally, while if a player comes in who has never played like this, it goes very wrong. Everyone must be patient. 

Do you understand that some supporters are angry?

What I understand is that a club like Barca cannot go one year without winning a major title. 

Were we all spoiled?

I do not know, but we thought winning the League and the Champions League was very easy. 

We have not spoken about Luis Enrique. You know him well? 

Yes I met him two years ago during my jump in to professional football. His influence was decisive for me. He's an ambitious coach, a born competitor and knows all the tatical systems of Barcelona. 

What do you hope for in 2014-15?

I hope people see a better player. I have tremendous enthusiasm, with all the will to win in the world, and I am more mature. 

What has Luis Enrique asked for?

I have marked personal challenges, this season I want to be more consistent. 

Excuse me, is it an optical illusion or have you gained a little weight?

I've worked to put on two kilos over these months. I'm a little stronger.