Spain’s World Cup-winning manager Vicente del Bosque has claimed that Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona do not represent his identity on the pitch.
While Xavi has undoubtedly done well to win La Liga from the depths in which he took over the team, this season many expected Barcelona to take a leap forward in terms of the football they play, and the football that the Barcelona icon preaches in his press conferences.
Del Bosque was asked about what Barcelona lacking on Cadena SER, and responded that they were missing the one thing Xavi was supposed to guarantee.
“He’s just off the back of winning a league. The big teams always play against teams sitting deep with very few spaces. Barcelona has always had a characteristic identity of opening the game up and they lack that a bit.”
His interviewer wondered if Xavi was setting himself up for failure by always speaking about the style of play that he seeks.
“A coach always has to set the maximum goal, although sometimes that goal is inaccessible.”
Meanwhile del Bosque was complementary of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, saying “represents the club very well at all times except on rare occasions.” He also praised Ancelotti’s management of the transition at the Santiago Bernabeu, as Los Blancos move on from the likes of Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric – “if you win it’s easy, but if you lose…”
No doubt Xavi has lacked the resources that his predecessors have had to deliver the football that was demanded of them, yet the lack of identity of his team, regardless of whether they win or not, has become a frustration for many with him. Last season Xavi went for a more pragmatic approach, which ultimately worked, but building on that is proving tricky.
