Over the last few weeks, much has been made of Xavi Hernandez’s decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the season. The 44-year-old made the announcement in January, after a 5-3 defeat to Villarreal in Montjuic, but his side have managed to go 11 matches undefeated since that day, in what has been a very impressive turnaround.
Because of Barcelona’s upturn in form, there has been increasing calls for Xavi to reverse his decision to leave, and instead stay on as head coach for at least one more season. President Joan Laporta, vice-president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco have all publicly called for Xavi to remain in his position, although so far, he continues to state that he will be departing in the summer.
Barcelona believe that they can change Xavi’s mind, especially if they can secure a trophy this season. The Catalan giants will hope their fans know how to get Champions League tickets for the final at Wembley Stadium, and if they could win that against Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal or Bayern Munich, that could be a strong factor for Xavi to reverse his decision.
At this stage, Barcelona’s managerial search is on hold because their first priority is to convince Xavi. The likes of Hansi Flick and Rafa Marquez are waiting in the wings as a replacement, although this list is hardly inspiring for the club’s supporters, who had hoped to attract a big name to succeed Xavi, if he does leave. This could be a reason why the club’s hierarchy is so insistent on Xavi, because they believe that there is a lack of quality coaches available to them at this stage.
Overall, Xavi has had a successful reign at Barcelona. He led them to the La Liga title last season, as well as the Spanish Super Cup. However, their performances in Europe have been significantly below par, although they will hope to end those questions in the upcoming weeks, starting against Paris Saint-Germain in their quarter-final showdown.
Another big positive of Xavi’s tenure has been the bleeding through of young players. Already this season, the likes of Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Pau Cubarsi, Hector Fort and Marc Guiu have all made their first team debuts, and each has had a significant impact when called upon. Considering that Barcelona can’t spend big in the summer because of their ongoing financial problems, they will need to keep relying on La Masia, which Xavi is comfortable in doing.
Keeping Xavi on is not a bad decision from Barcelona, and the argument of sufficient lack of replacements being available is understandable. It will be interesting to see whether they can change his mind in the coming weeks and months.
By Alejandro Fernandez
