Xavi’s rebuild at FC Barcelona
Xavi Hernández continues to enhance his reputation at FC Barcelona. Last Wednesday against Porto, he became the 12th coach to reach 100 official matches in the club’s history. Luis Enrique’s 181 games and Pep Guardiola’s 247 are the challenge to overcome. The 14 titles won by Pep in four years are even more inspirational.
Barça are undefeated so far this season, but trail Real Madrid by one point in the La Liga title race.
On the European stage, they have won two out of two Champions League games and top group H.
After two years falling out in the group stage, the Champions League is Xavi’s great unfinished business. His side have made a strong start, headlined by a 1-0 away win at Porto.
“Previously there was talk of ghosts” the coach from Terrassa said to Movistar, “we got rid of them against a historic rival.”.
Xavi made a triumphant debut as a head coach for Barça on the 20th November 2021, in a derby hosting Espanyol, decided by a Memphis Depay penalty goal. Before his arrival at Camp Nou, the Culers were facing a terrible situation.
Financial problems hung over the club, while the departure of Lionel Messi marked the end of an era. They were ranked 9th in La Liga and had lost two of their opening three Champions League games.
Ronald Koeman, the former head coach, stated that finishing in the “high positions” in La Liga would be a “success”. He wasn’t showing the ambition demanded at a club like FC Barcelona.
The Culers were desperate, and Xavi appeared as a fleeting light at the end of the tunnel. Due to the club’s financial issues, he agreed to a salary of 4.5 million per season. Koeman had earned 9.6 million annually. Xavi’s new contract until 2025 raises his annual salary to 8.5 million.
In 767 games as a Barça player – a figure only surpassed by Leo Messi – Xavi showed his incredible football IQ, supreme quality, and feel for the game. He was the archetypal La Masia midfielder.
His career as a player comforted the fans, even if it was his first European club as a coach. With Al-Sadd, in Qatar, Xavi managed a total of 93 games and won 7 titles, with a staggering record of 34 league games unbeaten. However, managing Barça is a whole different story…
Regardless, Xavi delivered. While he couldn’t win any trophies in his first half season, Barça climbed the table to secure Champions League qualification. They had gone from 9th to 2nd in La Liga, something that was far from guaranteed when Xavi took the job. The 4-2 wins against Atletico Madrid and Napoli stand out, but the 4-0 win over Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu was iconic.
During these games, “La Xavineta” showed speed, intensity, intelligence and above all, a motivation not seen for many years in Barcelona. Xavi insisted a lot on his “Four P” play model, based on position, possession, pressure and perception.
One-hundred games in, the results are showing —two titles, a total of 64 wins, 17 draws and 19 defeats, with 195 goals for and 97 against.
Champions League ambitions went unfulfilled, however. Xavi has just four victories from ten Champions league games, two of those coming this season.
“The 3-0 loss at home to Bayern last season,” Xavi told ESPN when asked for the worst moment as a Barça coach. “It was a tough defeat, the worst because it was the night we were knocked out. We either weren’t able to or didn’t know how to compete in the necessary way.”
This year, Xavi is looking for redemption in Europe.
During these almost two years, Xavi’s squad has changed completely, with only seven players remaining from that 2020-2021 season.
This summer, they improved the team considerably, spending only 3.5 million euros. All of it went to 31-year-old La Masia graduate, Oriol Romeu, from Girona. They also signed Ilkay Gundogan and Iñigo Martinez for free, plus top players like Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo on loan.
Those last two were a huge boost from the beginning, winning 5-0 in the first two games where both started, both scoring and being key to the team’s beautiful game.
“Experience like Ter Stegen, Lewandowski, Gundogan and youngsters like Lamine Yamal, Balde, Fermin Lopez. This makes the team flow. The mix of both is good for us,” he noted.
As he has repeated multiple times, “Barça is the most difficult club in the world. We are obliged to win and play well. This is Barça”
Xavi’s renewal was deserved, having won the first La Liga since 2019 and the Spanish Supercup. These two titles strengthen confidence in the project, but Xavi, Laporta and the Culers want more.
