Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is now firmly under pressure following a fourth defeat in nine games, and arguably their worst performance of the season against Royal Antwerp. From the inside, the atmopshere is tense, and the general line in Catalonia is that their trip to Mestalla to face Valencia is crucial for his future.
Beyond the play and the results, the atmosphere around the club and in the dressing room is what is casting Xavi in a concerning light, with constant leaks emerging. While publicly Ferran Torres backed Xavi after the Antwerp defeat, earlier this week it emerged that four key players were not happy with his management. Cadena SER confirm that some players are not happy with his coaching currently, and do not feel he provides them with sufficient tactical solutions to overcome the opposition.
They also note that the news being leaked to the media is coming from Laporta’s surrounding environment, but clearly the president has not done enough to fix that issue either.
🚨 Ferran Torres: "We know what Barça is like and the external noise, they try to destroy us and make us nervous." pic.twitter.com/lykQgk4XAi
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 13, 2023
Meanwhile there are members of the board that do not feel the side is at the physical level they should be, with several furious about the side behind closed doors. In addition to that is the contradiction between Xavi and Sporting Director Deco on who decided the squad list for their trip to Belgium.
Diario AS report that multiple members of the sporting commission, which consists of Laporta, Deco, Joan Soler, Enric Masip, Rafael Yuste and Bojan Krkic are losing faith in Xavi and his ability to turn things around. They describe Xavi’s position as ‘very weak’.
If Barcelona can score a victory over Valencia, it will ease tensions, with just a clash against Almeria after that before the Christmas. If Xavi can inspire a reaction from his players, both in terms of scoreline and football, it could allow the Antwerp debacle to be confined to the hsitory books. Anything else, and it might be talked about as the begnning of the end for Xavi.
Renew this guy, its “halfway to greatness again” lmaoooo 🫵😆