Xavi has sparked a turnaround at Camp Nou once again – this time as their manager after being their star midfielder before – and it’ll be interesting to see how high Barcelona can go in La Liga and in Europe next season.
When Lionel Messi announced that he’ll leave his boyhood club for PSG, the atmosphere around Catalonia was gloomy since it felt like they were headed in no man’s land.
Barcelona were in dire need of a savior, and that’s where Xavi comes in as he eventually led the Blaugrana to second place in the La Liga table after slumping down to as low as around ninth at one point.
Xavi still has his work cut out for him, though, and he knows it. But for the first time in a long while, Barcelona fans now can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Barcelona before Xavi
Prior to Xavi’s arrival, Barcelona have had a revolving door of coaches in these past few seasons due to the instability from the higher ups with the much-maligned Josep Maria Bartomeu still in charge.
Barcelona have had three different coaches in the last three years since the departure of Ernesto Valverde. Valverde, at the time, was one of their most successful managers this decade and his replacements couldn’t replicate his success.
Ronald Koeman was the latest collateral damage under the Bartomeu regime. Barcelona had a decent campaign during the Dutchman’s first season at the helm as their flaws were basically masked by Lionel Messi’s brilliance. But when Messi left town, they have been exposed.
Following their 1-0 defeat by Rayo Vallecano last October which saw themselves slide down to ninth place, Barcelona relieved Koeman of his coaching duties, especially since Joan Laporta – who eventually replaced Bartomeu – already had Xavi in his shortlist prior to the Dutchman’s dismissal.
Prior to taking over Barcelona, Xavi was coaching Al-Sadd and he guided them to winning the Qatari domestic league title. He once turned down the chance to coach Barcelona back in January 2020 after Ernesto Valverde was sacked, but finally he took the job much to the fan’s delight.
Youngsters and cast-offs have gained new lease of life under Xavi
Xavi, a La Masia graduate himself, knows a thing or two about internal development and focusing on the youth and he took that to heart upon moving back to Camp Nou.
He gave Ronald Araujo, Gavi, and Pedri more playing time earlier than expected to hasten their development, while he has restored confidence of the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Martin Braithwaite, and Gerard Pique.
It also helped that Joan Laporta and co. spent money last January to bring in reinforcements from young and old in Dani Alves, Adama Traore, Ferran Torres, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Alves provided a much-needed veteran presence on the defencive end while Traore and Torres have been great at the wings, and Aubameyang even surpassed his goal total with Arsenal this year in just a span of four months.
Although they weren’t immune to a couple of bad La Liga 2022 results, Xavi’s revival of Barcelona has been nothing short of revolutionary and that means that their SBOTOP La Liga 2022 odds ahead of next season has rose dramatically.
Xavi’s honeymoon period is coming to a close
Barcelona may have ended their 2021/22 campaign on a disappointing note with a 2-0 loss against Villarreal last Sunday, but they can give themselves a pat on the back and it’s only going to get better from here.
Xavi is hell-bent on bringing Barcelona back on top of the food chain. After their final game against Villarreal, the manager made it clear that they’re just getting started.
“Football is over, the competition is over, and I think we have saved a season that could have been catastrophic. The diagnosis is made and things have to be changed. We cannot hide reality. This has to change. And they tell us that it is possible,” said Xavi.
“Like the club, I am a demanding person, we did great things but we did not improve enough. We cannot accept another season without a trophy. We will win titles next season,” he added.
Many from the current squad might leave Camp Nou due to the team’s financial issues, so there’s a chance that we might see a whole new group next season. However, Barcelona have been successful with Xavi before, and there’s no doubt that they will be successful again with him leading the revolution anew.
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