2023-12-13 23:17:56
After the match, Xavi, with a funeral face, as if he knew his destiny, approached a euphoric Van Bommel, the Antwerp coach. He gave him a loving and compassionate hug, aware that his colleague, the Barça coach, lives in the dark. He is trapped in darkness, as a result of two consecutive defeats (2-4 for Girona and 3-2 for Antwerp) that place him in the most delicate situation in memory. Barça has fallen. Barça has fallen for Xavi.
“I have the total confidence of the president and Deco. I have been talking to the president for two hours and there is no problem between us. The defeat that hurts is that of Girona, not this one,” said the Barça coach after suffering his second consecutive defeat.
Because he doesn’t have it, he doesn’t have a football idea (seven goals conceded in two games) nor does he have a common story. Wrapped in the permanent mess synthesized all of this in 48 chaotic hours. On Monday night, Xavi rested Lewandowski, Araujo, Gündogan and Frenkie de Jong. On Tuesday morning he took three of the four to Belgium because the Dutchman, with a fever, stayed in Barcelona. On Tuesday afternoon he verbalized that decision. “It has been agreed upon with the president, Deco and the players,” said Xavi.
“You see controversies where there are none”
A version that the coach defended, minutes after losing to Antwerp. “Of course it has been consensual. Unnecessary tension has been created around this match,” he argued, recalling that “the footballers wanted to come to be with the team and the list is agreed upon with the president and with Deco. Controversies are seen where there is no”.
Something never seen. A list that included the president and sports director when it is the absolute responsibility of the coach. On Wednesday night, Lewandowski was the starter. “I asked him and he told me that he was not tired, that he wanted to play.” And he played the ‘nine’. Or he spent 72 minutes on the field without taking a single shot.
The Deco replica
Before the defeat against Antwerp, Deco replied to Xavi: “The calls are a matter for the coach, we have not agreed on anything.” Gündogan also played in the second half when disaster was inevitable in a Barça where only children (Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu, who scored a goal, the 2-2) They had the necessary rebellion.
But then came the 3-2 score that brought the team down. “I’m worried, we’ve had a bad streak, we haven’t been good. We have to take this forward,” said the Barça coach, who has suffered five defeats in his seven European trips.
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“We are in the round of 16, that is the positive point. The negative is that we have to recover good play and good football,” said Xavi, recalling that “Oriol Romeu has not had his day like the whole team, but we have to give him a lot of confidence.”
The Barça coach was not very self-critical. “We must congratulate the team, we are first in the group and we are in the hype,” he added. “It is difficult for us to generate, we have to be critical of ourselves, but the objective was achieved,” Xavi insisted, while Laporta has avoided giving statements during these 48 hours in which a list was “consensus”, something that Deco does not share.
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