Barcelona

Analysis: The death of a salesman Xavi Hernandez edition – The big issue facing the Barcelona manager

Barcelona might win La Liga next season, but by accident not design. And that might seem like it’s fine, but ultimately, it means that a year down the line, Barcelona project to be in the same place as they are today.

Xavi Hernandez took 89 days to reverse his decision on his future, if we take him at his word, and in that time Barcelona did manage to ease past Napoli in the Champions League, but ultimately lost both ground in the title race, as well as El Clasico, to add insult to injury. It was the Real Madrid fans asking for Xavi to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The sudden collapse of a season that had been trending upward, simmering rather than coming to the boil, brought Xavi’s position firmly into focus, and saw Barcelona broadcast a degree of institutional uncertainty that would frighten even Joan Gaspart veterans. Not least the now multitude of investors Barcelona are both beholden to and seeking.

It was form consistent with the work of the players below the directors box – there was a four-month gap between Barcelona winning a game by more than one goal this season, and every match seemed on a knife edge. Swinging between disaster and heroics, Xavi outwardly lost his nerve: resigned, put a centre-back in midfield – to add to the three behind Andreas Christensen – and made it clear that he wasn’t the one to lead the Blaugrana forward. Whatever he had in his head, he could not transfer it to the pitch, in shrivelling contrast to the ease with which he directed play himself.

His exit he put down to… A lot of things. It seemed on that fateful night on the hill, when Xavi had stepped down from the lectern as leader, he had finally come to terms with the fact that whatever was going wrong, he was part of it. When he spoke, it was tortured. There was a slight step back from all involved, a genuine concern about a person who, regardless of what had gone wrong, did not deserve to be going through this.

What he said, was nothing to do with himself though. He spoke of a lack of appreciation, of not being valued, of a crushing and cruel pressure. When he said it, Barcelona had been on the verge of a comeback against Villarreal, from two goals down, which would have vindicated at the very least the spirit of the squad and their belief in him. It fell apart, and almost in disbelief, he waved a white flag in front of impermeable Real Madrid sails, bobbing towards Barcelona’s title. Rafael Marquez winked back at him from the front pages, and the cynics not so quietly declared that he had jumped before he was pushed.

As he tried to explain the reasons that Barcelona continued to stumble, nothing changed from his explanations before the big announcement, still pummeling the narrative that Barcelona had outplayed their opponents for most of the match, one that the disgruntled Catalan press were sick of printing. One that paid too little attention to the factors continuing to hurt his side, and too much to parts of the game that suited him and his players.

That continued to be coupled with a shrieking against referees, that regardless of each specific match or decision, smelled of desperation not calculation. While all football managers complain, and some deliberately deliver soundbites for the ears of officials and press, Xavi’s cries both on touchline and television were at this point not strategic, and they certainly weren’t useful.

This is not to say that Barcelona have not improved in recent months, or that Xavi did not do things right since his announcement to aid a positive shift. Barcelona went for a more vertical style that benefitted Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, the addition of Christensen was initially cumbersome, but much more effective than without him, and perhaps most importantly, the return of injured players gave him options.

His bravery to use Pau Cubarsi, Hector Fort and the continued development of Lamine Yamal over the duration of the season are very much to his credit, and perhaps the largest argument for his presence next season, bearing in mind Barcelona will need more academy talents next year, and the year beyond that. Xavi has rarely been found wanting in terms of bravery, and some of his decisions would have been shirked by others.

One of the main arguments for his continuity espoused by President Joan Laporta was stability though. The continuation of a project, the room for it to grow. Xavi’s arguments can be whittled down to him feeling refreshed and with replenished energy stocks to take the side forward, citing the squad’s reaction. Publicly at least, no promises from above have been made to Xavi, and while Laporta did point to upcoming ‘improvements’, there were no set goals laid out to Xavi. At the very least, in the most political club in the world, the absence of bargaining stands out like a concerning thumb.

Continuity of what though? In Xavi’s first season, the initial matches were defined by steely determination, a grinding out of results. The post-January blues, brightened by the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traore, Ferran Torres and a certain Brazilian, were followed by probably the most fluid and best spell of football in Xavi’s tenure, centred around Gavi, Pedri and Ronald Araujo. Xavi told the press that simply winning was not enough, and until Eintracht Frankfurt invaded Camp Nou, it looked like he might have them playing the football he felt was demanded of him, and winning at the same time.

Last season was undoubtedly the high point, but after a pre-World Cup run that saw a goal-heavy but ragged Barcelona, Xavi added a midfielder and suffocated his opponents, outlasting Real Madrid with gritty performance upon narrow win upon miserly defence. This year again, Xavi pursued a more fluid, eye-catching style worthy of dragging the crowds up Montjuic, but their best form saw Cubarsi launching raking passes forward for Lamine Yamal and Raphinha to run onto. Two and a half years down the line, Xavi is again finishing a campaign playing with a different setup from the one he started with.

Come the end of the Clasico and their Champions League run, the headlines that Xavi was selling were the same. That Barcelona were the better side, that the referees had turned the screw causing his team to unravel, and he wore the same dark frustration as he spoke with at the end of the Villarreal match. Not forgetting the somewhat nasty derision at times. The louder he pleaded for his kiosko, the less people were willing to buy from it.

After 12 separate press conferences and many more answers denying that his decision would change, it did. No doubt the sports media in Spain test the limits of their credibility, but over that spell, undoubtedly their words have stood up more than Xavi’s. It’s hard to buy that Barcelona are pursuing a set style or idea. Beyond that, the club’s vision is even more obscure.

The one thing, aside from the youngsters, that Xavi has inspired, is the spirit in his team. Sifting through their defeats, few of them under his reign have seen players accused of a lack of commitment. Even in Clasicos or their European ‘runs’, there has been at least a lungbusting effort when results have been lacking.

In recent months, statements from Xavi’s players, and significantly from some of the pillars of the dressing room, have contradicted his when it comes to the reasons for their failings. Ilkay Gundogan, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde all spoke about different matches to the one Xavi described in recent losses. If that backing of their manager comes loose, the foundations really do threaten to shake.

There are a lot of changes that need to happen at Barcelona to sustain success, and there are assets, talent, a willingness to win. Those changes go far beyond the manager too. But the crux of the problem facing Xavi though, as he tries to implement changes on day one of preseason, laying out the scheme, concept and how he plans to achieve them, when Xavi starts talking – would you believe him?

Posted by

Tags Barcelona Joan Laporta Xavi Hernandez

1 Comment

Comments are closed

La Liga - Club News