Barcelona star reflects on the club’s strong defensive performances: “Matter of pride”

Jules Kounde was one of La Liga’s best centre-backs right from his time at Sevilla. As he made the challenging move to Barcelona last summer one expected that the Frenchman would require a fair amount of time to adapt to the Catalan possession-based system.

Since his move in the summer, Kounde has fit like a glove to the hand despite not playing at his favoured position. The central defender has been forced to operate as Barcelona’s primary right-back and has done so with great quality and consistency.

The defender spoke about his stellar run with the club so far, with a special mention of the hunger for success in the dressing room. Speaking to TV3 he said:

“We are a young group that is very hungry for titles and eager to prove ourselves and take a step forward. The past few years have not been easy for Barcelona. We all keep that in mind, we have to put Barcelona as high as possible.”

Kounde has rarely got a chance to play at his favoured position recently for both club and country. The Frenchman is now naturally associated with the right-back position given his commanding displays, yet insisted that he played there only as a result of the team’s deficient options.

“Everyone knows what my favourite position is. But I adapt to any position. Now is the time for me to play full-back and do it for the team. There are matches I enjoy more, others less.”

Barça’s defensive performances have been brilliant of late, with the Catalans hardly letting in any goals. And Kounde, who has been key to that, admitted that it is a matter of pride for the team to keep clean sheets.

“It’s a matter of pride. It’s very important to keep our goal intact. As a defender, it’s always in my mind not to concede a goal. And the team is also very clear about this. Every time we try to press higher and higher,” he said.

Barcelona’s great form is indeed the direct result of improved performances by every individual on the field. However, Xavi Hernandez is the man pulling the string from behind the scenes. Kounde had nothing but praise for his manager’s influence in the dressing room.

“Xavi brings a lot of desire to the players, he’s the leader of the team. Every day he wakes up with this ambition to play better and win and win and win. You can see it in every moment, in every conversation and in every training.”