A circus story: How Barcelona have terribly handled Xavi’s reign

A circus.

That’s exactly what the men in sharp suits at the offices of FC Barcelona are running at the moment. An absolute circus.

Joan Laporta, the ringmaster of this show, has sacked head coach Xavi Hernandez.

While it was an outcome that had been coming for some months now, the emotional see-saw and embarrassing sporting indecisiveness that ensued, was a massive mess, to say the least.

First Act

On 28th January 2024, after a shocking and devastating 5-4 loss to Villarreal at the Montjuic, a defeated Xavi announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the season, convinced he couldn’t take his team any further. He was clear about the team needing a change in dynamic.

But why end of the season? Was it his his decision? Or another play by Laporta and his staff?

As it turned out, Barcelona were still in a situation that could be recovered from, having qualified for the Champions League knockouts and still having a reasonable distance to chase Real Madrid in the league.

Not to forget, since there weren’t any suitable coaches in the market that there could be a consensus about at that moment, Xavi and Laporta decided it was best for the former to stay on until the last day of the season.

This way, much of the pressure on the coaching staff and the players would be relieved, and the team could manage a run of good performances and results in the meantime.

Both things did happen.

A lot of the negativity around the club dissipated and the team played some highly efficient football during the business end of the season and when it mattered the most, got the job done against the likes of Napoli, Atletico, and even PSG (almost).

A lot of the players tried to convince Xavi to change his mind, but the coach was determined. So was the team.

Then came the anomaly.

After an impressive 3-2 win over Paris Saint-German in the first leg of their Champions League Quarter-Final, Xavi and his men had their fate in their own hands going into the second…


Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/a-circus-story-how-barcelona-have-terribly-handled-xavis-reign/

Author : Aryaman Sharma

Publish date : 2024-05-27 10:38:33

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