VANGELIS STAMATOPOULOS 28.01.2024 | 13:54
Xavi on the bench for Barcelona in a league match against Villarreal | January 27, 2024 @2024 JOAN MONFORT/AP IMAGES
Xavi has announced that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season and has prematurely opened the file with his potential successors, with the Catalan “Sport” citing five coaches of interest to the Blaugrana.
Barcelona pulled off a big upset against Villarreal as although they found themselves losing 2-0 at the start of the second half they were able to take the lead by scoring three goals, but in the final they paid with the same coin.
And that’s because the yellow submarine scored three goals in a historic 5-3 triumph at Montjuic (the first team in 30 years to score five goals at Barca’s home ground), which not only dashed their hopes Barcelona for the title but led Xavi to the exit door.
As he revealed in the press conference that followed, the months leading up to the season finale will be his last in charge of his beloved club, with the one-time Catalan midfield maestro dropping the ‘bombshell’ and the media on Iberian Peninsula to begin the… safari in search of his replacement.
In fact, according to a report by “Sport”, the administration of Joan Laporta has already circled five names of coaches for whom it has a good opinion and who could receive the “hot potato” from the hands of Xavi.
Mitchell, who is challenging for this year’s La Liga title with breakthrough side Girona, is of course on the shortlist, while the other manager who has attracted interest working across the border at a rival club is Real Madrid’s Alguatil Society.
Beyond that, there seems to be interest in Thiago Motta (Bologna) and Giovanni van Brockhorst (without a team after his divorce with Rangers) while Rafa Marquez is also being considered, with the Mexican having played in Barcelona as a football player in the past and now working for the club as the coach of the second team.