"He came home" - maybe it sounds like a worn-out phrase, but that's the best way to describe the moment when Xavi Hernandez - the legendary football player of Barcelona - became the coach on November 8 in one of the most difficult moments in the history of this giant of world football.
He took over Barca after two seasons that were a disappointment for every fan, but also for all those who for years enjoyed the mastery of the footballer of that "more than a club" and the famous tiki-taka.
The results were bad, and the game only sometimes resembled that fluttering and almost unmistakable one, which was even known to be applauded by the fans of the biggest and most hated rival - Real Madrid.
As a player, Ćavi wore the Barça jersey for 17 years and during that time won everything - eight Spanish championship titles, three Copa del Rey, six Spanish Super Cups, four Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
It could be said that Ćavi became the player he is thanks to the legendary Serbian coach Radomir Antic.
Namely, in 2003, Antić, as the coach of Barcelona, moved Ćavi forward in midfield to a position where Ćavi will be one of the best in the world.
Thus, Xavi became what is called a metronome in football (the main player in the middle of the field who dictates the pace and passes the ball accurately).
He played in such a way that many will say that he was perhaps more important than Messi, Ronaldinho or Eto'o. It seemed that he had such an overview of the game, that if, for example, he found himself in front of the corner flag with his back to the field, he could see where each of his teammates was.
The fact is that while he played for the popular Blaugrana, the club won four Champions Leagues, and after his departure – none.
Some went so far as to theorize that one of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi scores a lot of goals thanks to Xavi and another legend, Andres Iniesta.
Messi, who is now a former Barca player, because he moved to the French team Paris Saint-Germain (PSŽ) at the end of last season, still showed that this is not the case, because even without Xavi and Iniesta, he continued to solve the opponent's nets.
Xavi left the club where he grew up and left an extremely deep mark in 2015 and went to Qatar's Al Sadd, where he finished playing and began his coaching career.
One is sure. If Xavi applies the football philosophy under which he performed as a player at Barça and which he applied as coach of Al Sadd, Barcelona will play attacking football with a focus on possession of the ball.
Two difficult years
Barcelona won the last title of the champion of Spain in the 2018-19 season, and the previous two years were not easy at all.
Moreover, the 2019–20 season in which they defended the title of Spanish champions was the first in which they did not win a single trophy since the 2007–08 season, and they appeared in four competitions (Spanish Championship, Spanish Cup, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup).
In that season, the team was led from the bench by Ernesto Valverde (until January 13, 2020) and Quique Setien.
The season in the Spanish Championship was temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic from March 23 to June 13, when it resumed, and ended in mid-July.
Barca handed over the crown to Real Madrid.
But that was only the beginning of failure.
The Champions League was also suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, and before the suspension, Barcelona drew 25:2020 with Napoli away from home in the first leg of the Round of 1 on February 1, XNUMX.
The second leg was played in August, and Barca won 3:1 at the Nou Camp, with goals from Lengle, Messi and Suarez.
This also meant a trip to Lisbon, where one match each of the quarter-final, semi-final and final was played.
A real shock followed in the semi-finals. On August 14, Bayern Munich beat them 8:2, inflicting one of the heaviest defeats on the Catalans in their more than 120-year history. Ceh was paid by coach Setien, who was fired just three days later.
On August 19, the Dutchman Ronald Koeman - the playing legend of Barca - was appointed as the new coach.
"The hero from Wembley '92 is back", that's how the club presented the arrival of Koeman on its Twitter account with all red and blue hearts.
In the 1992 Champions League final, Koeman scored a goal in the 112th minute that won Barça the first trophy of the most prestigious European club competition.
In that final, the Blaugrana, led by coach Johan Cruyff, defeated Sampdoria at Wembley Stadium, led by the legendary Vujadin Boškov from the bench.
But the arrival of Kuman on the bench didn't help either. On the contrary. It was also bad that a large number of fans were against his arrival.
With the new coach in the 2020/21 season, only the King's Cup was won, in the Spanish Championship they won second place behind Atletico Madrid, and in the Champions League, in the round of XNUMX, PSŽ was better.
To make things worse, in August 2021, one of the best players in the world and club legend Lionel Messi left, who moved to PSG.
Koeman "survived" on the bench, but the 2021/22 season started disastrously.
In the first ten rounds of the Spanish Championship, only four victories were achieved, three games ended in a draw and the same number of defeats were recorded.
It is interesting that Barcelona lost all three games against the clubs from Madrid – Atlético (2:0), Real (2:1) and Rajo Vallecano (1:0).
It was similar in the Champions League - a 3:0 loss to Bayern at home and an embarrassment against Benfica - also a 3:0 loss in Lisbon. They managed to beat the weakest team in the group - Dynamo from Kiev - twice with 1:0 each.
All the time it was mentioned that it was only a matter of time when Koeman would get a "shot card".
With 15 points, after 10 rounds, Barca was in 9th place in the Spanish championship, and the teams that then shared the first position, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Betis, had six points more.
And just after the 10th round, Kuman was replaced, and his decision was a defeat against Rajo Valjekan (1:0 away) on October 27.
His coaching record in Barcelona is 40 wins, 11 draws and 16 losses. On average, he scored 1,96 points per game.
However, Kuman must be given one credit - he gave young players a chance.
All these adversities are accompanied by the difficult financial situation in which the club finds itself.
And it was already mentioned that Xavi could take over the struggling Catalan giant.
Returning home
And that's exactly how it happened, six and a half years after he left, Xavi returned home and right to the bench, as the first coach of Barcelona.
It was presented in front of thousands of fans at the Camp Nou.
"I'm very excited, thank you very much. I didn't want to be overcome by emotion, but it happened. Many thanks to the club, the fans... As I told you when I left, we are the best club in the world. Barça is demanding, you can't draw or lose, here you have to win. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Long live Barça, long live Catalonia," Xavi said during the presentation.
After a few days, he officially received permission from La Liga to become a coach, after all the documents and financial reports about his move from Al Sadd were certified.
As the Spanish media stated at the time, the transfer was subject to a validation check for a long time, due to the bad economic situation in which Barcelona is, because there was a possibility that his arrival would violate the rules of financial fair play that apply in Spain.
At that time, the media also reported that Al Sadd, nevertheless, received compensation in the amount of five million euros, but also that part of it was paid by Xavi himself, since Barcelona did not have enough money available for that transaction.
It started off nice. In the debut, city rivals Espanyol were defeated 1:0, but it can be said that Barca were lucky because they scored after a dubious penalty against Depay.
In the Champions League after 0:0 against Benfica at the Nou Camp, the passage to the next round will have to look for against Bayern Munich on December 8
In the last round on November 27, they defeated Villarreal away with 3:1.
Despite two championship victories, the situation is still not good.
Barca is in seventh place with 23, while Real Madrid, which is the leader, has 13 points and a game more.
Xavi as a coach - philosophy, game, tactics: "Take, pass, hold the ball..."
Xavi has already proven that he has coaching qualities. The statistics are inexorable, although the Qatari league and Al Sadd are not the best benchmark.
With Al Sadd, in the 2019-20 season he won the title in Qatar without defeat, and a total of seven trophies.
In the 102 matches he led the Qatari team, he recorded 67 wins, 17 draws and 18 losses.
A legitimate question arises - Is Xavi inexperienced to be Barcelona's first coach?
Maybe it is, given that he did not stay at Al Sadd long enough and that his second job in his career is the coach of the Barcelona first team.
However, this need not be an obstacle considering that he took over the club where he grew up, in whose youth academy he spent six years, in the first team for 17 years, and the philosophy of the game has not changed.
So, Barca is a club that Xavi knows very well.
After all, the cases of two Barça coaches - Valverde and Koeman - clearly show that experience does not mean anything.
The great advantage of Xavi is that both players and fans love and trust him. And it's no wonder considering the games he showed in the Catalan club.
"Take the ball, pass the ball", is the unofficial motto of the legend of Barcelona - former player and coach Pep Guardiola, but also Xavi himself.
It is known that Barcelona's game is based on possession of the ball, and that it is possession that dominates the opponent.
Such is the philosophy of Xavi himself.
This is also confirmed by the fact that Al Sadd under Ćavi's leadership in the current season had over 60% of the ball possession. Xavi's teams could be described as those who would rather concede four goals, while scoring six, than keep a 1:0 lead.
That he will do something like that in his new job could be seen in the matches against Espanyol and Benfica, in which Barça had possession of 65 and 61 percent, respectively. Against Villarreal, however, she did not manage to keep the ball that long, possession was 50:50.
In the match against Espanyol, it was seen that Xavi set up the game in such a way as to put pressure on the defenders of the city rival, however, Barca's players did not find their way in the end. Also, there were big mistakes in the defense that it is simply unbelievable that the players of Espanyol did not manage to score a goal.
The match against Villarreal showed that Memphis Depay can hardly carry Barcelona's attack on his back.
It seems that Depay, who since his arrival at the beginning of this season can hardly cope with the pressure, is one of the best players and that the most is expected of him when it comes to goals.
Although he scored one of the three goals against Villarreal, he still showed that he does not manage to finish in a large number of situations. In particular, one of his misses in the first half was almost inexcusable.
Against Benfica, Barcelona also held the ball, dominance was visible, a large number of chances were created, but the finish was a problem. The Catalans could have been punished if Haris Seferović had managed better in a more than favorable chance towards the end of the match.
What could be key is that Xavi has been a metronome throughout his playing career, and Barça's game is based on winning the field, possession and dominance on the pitch.
So there should be no illusion as to what style of play Xavi wants as a coach.
“My DNA hasn't changed. We need to keep the ball, create chances", said Ćavi at the presentation.
The problem for Xavi for this type of game could be that there are no more masters like Messi, Ronaldinho, Iniesta, Samuel Eto'o, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann, Ivan Rakitić...
Such a game requires quality midfielders, offensive players, especially wing players.
The focus will certainly be on the 4-3-3 formation, which will be changed to 3-4-3 if necessary, all with the aim of playing offensively with high pressing and a high defense.
In such a game, wing players are crucial, because they "spread" the game and break through to the sides, so such responsibility is removed to a certain extent from the defenders.
Far from that, the defenders do not go forward and do not attack the position of the wing and come into the penalty area.
Let's just remember the Barcelona game in the 4-3-3 formation, when Messi was on the right, Ronaldinho was on the left, and Eto was the central striker. And Xavi and Iniesta played behind them.
Xavi has players in the team with whom he can force this style of play.
Defense – many misses
The defense this season consists of the experienced Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Dani Alves (second term at the club, came after the arrival of Xavi), and Sergio Dest (in the match against Real Madrid he played on the right wing), Ronald Araujo, Clement Lengle, Oscar Mingeza, Samuel Umtiti , Sređi Roberto (he also plays in midfield) and Erik García.
The defense showed a lot of mistakes even after the arrival of Ćavi.
This is something that needs to be worked on, because in a system of high pressing and a high back line, with the defenders also going forward, if there are serious lapses in defense, the opponent will inevitably create chances.
Midfield, wings, strikers: Experience, a player who resembles Xavi, someone who can do much more, the best young players...
Barça's advantage, especially when it comes to the style of play enforced by Xavi, is reflected in the fact that it has players who can cover several positions in the midfield, and they are also excellent in the role of wings, and even half-forwards and strikers.
Sergio Busquets (captain and central or rear midfielder), has played over 2008 matches in Barça's jersey since 400. He has shown himself to be great in taking the ball away in the middle of the field, spoiling the opponent's play, controlling the ball very well, rarely losing it, and while his teammates were Ćavi, and later Ivan Rakitić had a great influence in the creation of the game.
The former coach of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, Vicente del Bosque, once said of Busquets: "If you watch the whole game, you won't see Busquets, but watch Busquets and you will see the whole game."
One of the main players is certainly Frenkie de Jong - a metronome, who seems to be ideal for Xavi's style of play and someone who most resembles his current coach when he was a player.
He once described himself as a player who likes to hold the ball and play a possession-based game. He is versatile and adaptable, he can play all positions in the middle of the field, and his additional quality is that he can even play as a central defender. In the position of central defender, he showed a great sense of positioning and constant possession of the ball. There were even comparisons with the famous Franz Beckenbauer. In his last season in Ajax, from which he moved to Barça, he had as many as 91,4 percent of successful passes.
Philippe Coutinho is also a player who, if he could show what he can really do, would be great for Xavi's attacking style. He came at the end of 2018 from Liverpool as a big reinforcement. It had some good moments, but more was expected. It must be pointed out that he was also troubled by injuries. On 16 April 2019, after scoring a great goal against Manchester United, he celebrated by putting his fingers in his ears and closing his eyes in response to fans' criticism.
The legend of Barca and Coutinho's countryman, Rivaldo, criticized this move and said that it was not a good gesture, that Coutinho scored a great goal, but that it is never good to do something like that to the fans.
"The fans criticized him because they know he can do more," Rivaldo said of his compatriot.
He was on loan at Bayern, and in the famous semi-final match of the Champions League in which Bayern beat Barcelona 8:2, he scored two goals and had an assist.
He returned when the club was taken over by Koeman, and on 29 December 2020 he injured his knee in a match against Eibar and missed the rest of the season.
This season, he scored two goals in 13 matches, and was only a starter four times.
The Spanish newspaper "Sport" claims that Coutinho has the highest salary in the club and that Xavi has given him a month to prove himself or he will be shown the exit door.
A player who could shine at Xavi and who should definitely be given special attention is midfielder Pedri, the best young player in the world in 2021, a member of the ideal team of the last European Championship and the best young player of that tournament, and winner of the prestigious "Golden Boy" football award. awarded by the Italian newspaper "Tutosport" to the best player in Europe under the age of 21.
Although he is only 19 years old, he has already made 10 appearances for the Spanish national team.
In the jersey of the "red fury", which had the most attempted passes at the last European Championship (5.051) and had the highest percentage of success (89,6 percent), the then 18-year-old Pedri was the main conductor. He attempted the most passes in the opponent's half - 348 and had the third-highest pass success rate (91,1 percent). Of the 429 passes (sixth overall in the tournament), 66 were in the semi-final against Italy. As many as 65 passes were accurate, and he failed only once - in overtime.
Pedri also became the first European player in the history of major tournaments (World or European Championship) to start as many as six matches at the age of 18 or under.
The only "spot" was in the match against Croatia in the round of 49,36. when he returned the ball to goalkeeper Unaj Simon from XNUMX meters, and it ended up in Spain's net. But it's not Pedri's fault, the ball went over Simon's leg.
The young, 19-year-old Ansu Fati spent almost seven years in the famous Barça youth academy - La Masia.
He is one of the most talented players in the world and the youngest footballer to ever play in Barcelona's first team.
He made his debut against Betis on August 25, 2019 and was 16 years and 298 days old at the time. His style of play is such that many compare him to Messi, and after the departure of the Argentine, he also received his number - 10. He is adaptable in attack, and is usually on the left wing.
Right-handed, and excellent with his left foot, he can even play central striker, false nine, half forward. He too had injury problems.
Even younger is Gavi, also an offshoot of La Masia, who is only 17 years old, and in his 12 appearances so far, he has shown that he can play in midfield as well as on both wings.
ESPN journalist Graham Hunter has already compared him to Xavi and Iniesta. His qualities are dribbling, intelligence, passing, first contact with the ball, quick change of pace, ability to get out of tight spaces and initiate a counterattack.
He has also made four appearances for Spain's first team, and following their Nations League semi-final victory over Italy this year, Italian defender Emerson Palmieri described him as a player with great potential.
As for the classic rush hour, there seems to be a lot of problems there.
In addition to the already mentioned Depay, there are Osman Dembele, Luke de Jong, Martin Braithwaite, Yusuf Demir and the veteran Sergio Aguero, who will probably have to end his career due to heart problems.
Dembele did not renew his contract, and Newcastle are interested in him, so he could leave soon.
Braithwaite played three matches in the Spanish league this season and scored two goals with one assist before injuring his knee in September and the local press said he would be out for three or four months.
The Spanish newspaper "As" wrote in an article that Xavi and Braithwaite met after Xavi became a coach, and that there is "total chemistry" between them. Xavi then saw that Braithwaite was extremely motivated to recover as quickly as possible, and that the Dane saw a coach who believed in him. Xavi then said that Braithwaite will be useful for this Barça, because he presses in attack when the ball is lost.
"When I come back I will have an important role," said the Danish international.
Xavi hopes Braithwaite will return next year, while the Dane hopes it will be before the end of 2021.
What will happen to Luka de Jong is difficult to say, because the Dutchman has not played a single second since Xavi's arrival, he was on the bench for three matches before Xavi's arrival, and he played a total of 13 minutes against Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid.
The young, 18-year-old Demir arrived on loan from Vienna Rapid this summer. Against Benfica, he played on the right wing, caused problems for the opponent and showed quality. He also made two moves in the style of Messi, but he was not lucky to score a goal - once the ball went wide of the goal after being caught by the goalkeeper, and the second time it hit the crossbar.
One of the players in the right wing position is Abde Ezalzouli, a 19-year-old La Masia youngster who surprisingly started in the match against Villarreal and the fans were surprised by his good performance and by being one of the most dangerous players during the match.
There is also young midfielder Niko Gonzalez who got a chance at the beginning of this season and made 11 appearances. He can play both left and right in midfield.
Expensive wishes
The media these days are writing that Xavi wants to bring in Ferran Torres, the Manchester City striker who can also play on the wing.
According to "Mundo Deportiva", Torres could come as early as January.
Torres' dream is to play in Barcelona, he has reportedly already discussed this with the City manager, Pep Guardiola, who will not cause any problems for the Spanish footballer during this transfer.
And Guardiola has repeatedly emphasized that he does not want dissatisfied players in the team, and that he will always allow the players to leave the club, if they so wish.
"Mundo Deportivo" writes that Torres has already accepted the conditions offered by Barcelona. He will reportedly sign a five-year contract and earn less than he would if he stayed at City.
The Spanish team will reportedly pay the English champion around 55 million euros for this transfer.
The arrival of Torres could hasten the departure of Dembele.
The media are also writing these days that Xavi wants Dani Olmo, who Manchester City is reportedly interested in.
Olmo plays as an offensive midfielder, and as a nine-year-old he arrived at La Masia from neighboring Espanyol. At only 16 years old, he went to Dinamo from Zagreb, and is currently a member of Leipzig. This season he has a problem with injuries, and he is currently injured, but even when he was ready, he did not play well in the jersey of the German club.
"Mundo Deportivo" also wrote these days that next summer Barça will try to bring Olm, but also Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and Paul Pogba, a player from Manchester United.
It is known that the club is in a financial crisis, so the management is already thinking about how to provide money. One of the ways is to save on the salaries of football players.
However, it remains unclear how, in addition to salary money, Barça will pay the clubs compensation for Olm and Haaland.
Pogba's contract with United expires in the summer and he could come as a free agent. And the question is whether he wants to change the environment, since the island's media recently announced that the Frenchman is thinking about extending his cooperation with the "devils".
According to Transfermarkt, Olm's price is 50 million euros, and Haaland's price is 150 million.
The conclusion is that as a coach, Ćavi has a difficult job ahead of him, to bring the stumbling giant back to the paths of old glory.
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