2024-05-04 20:44:02
Why did the coach of the Catalan club change his mind about leaving Barça at the end of the season?
İdman.biz presents an article with a link to livesport.ru.
What began with a 3-5 home defeat to Villarreal in January ended on Wednesday, April 24, with Barcelona president Joan Laporta ordering sushi to be delivered to his home to celebrate Xavi Hernandez’s agreement to remain as the club’s head coach. writes ESPN.
That shock defeat earlier in the year prompted Xavi to announce his intention to retire at the end of the season. However, just 91 days later he changed that decision after meeting Laporta this week. During this time, Barça went on a 13-match unbeaten run, during which club officials and fans began demanding Xavi continue as coach. That run ended last week with back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals and Real Madrid in La Liga, leaving the Catalan side facing a trophyless season.
Despite these results, Barca have maintained their belief that Xavi, who made over 700 appearances for the club as a player, is the man to lead the team forward. Xavi has always insisted his initial decision was irreversible, but on Wednesday he backed down and agreed to see out his contract, which runs until 2025.
As local media were camped on the pavement in front of Laporta’s home, Xavi arrived and within minutes sources confirmed there was an agreement that he would remain at the helm of the team. “As soon as he came and we said hello, we knew he had to stay,” LaPorta said Thursday.
Sporting director Deco and vice-president Rafa Yuste were among other members of the club’s management who arrived shortly afterwards. Then came the sushi delivery and Barça began preparing for the next season with newfound confidence about who would be in charge.
Why did Javi decide to stay?
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to assessing why Xavi, who remained adamant in his decision to leave this summer, has suddenly decided to commit his immediate future to the club. The first point of view is the club one, the second one is the coaching point of view.
On the club’s side, the financial situation was a factor, although not the only one. While Laporta claims the club never spoke or approached any other coach, always hoping Xavi would change his mind, sources said Barca have carried out due diligence on various candidates.
The problem they faced was that it would be very difficult to bring in an existing coach – first because of the compensation to the club he was working for, and then because of the lack of budget they could realistically offer that coach. This second point also became a problem when it came to appointing top coaches who would be out of work this summer.
In addition, there was also no unanimity in the club regarding some candidates. Sources said candidates being considered included B team coach Rafa Marquez, the most available option, as well as German tacticians Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel. The resulting question was simple: would they do a better job than Xavi?
Barça also prioritized stability and wanted to give Xavi the benefit of the doubt. He takes over from Ronald Koeman in 2021, finishing ninth in La Liga and at risk of not qualifying for the Champions League. They finished second. Then, in the 2022/23 season, the first full season under Xavi, they won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. While acknowledging that the expected steps forward have not materialized this season, Laporta is focusing on the positives.
Xavi and the team reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2020, even though they squandered a two-goal lead over PSG in their exit from the tournament. The club also praised Xavi’s courage in adding and supporting young players such as 17-year-old center back Pau Kubarsi and 16-year-old striker Lamin Yamal, who were highlighted as players who could shape the club’s next generation. .
It’s harder to understand why Javi agreed to stay.
In January, he spoke of the “violent and unpleasant” atmosphere that often surrounds the club and the mental exhaustion of the challenges of being Barca coach. Speaking on Thursday, he acknowledged that atmosphere would return at the first sign of trouble. But he also said that with more than 30 years of experience at the club, he knows exactly what to expect.
Xavi says the main reason he decided to remain at the helm of the team was the support he received from the president, board of directors, players and fans over the past three months. He added that he has the “energy” to continue and that the project, built around the talented youth of Kubarsi, Ronald Araujo, Gavi, Pedri and Lamin Yamal, is far from finished.
What happened since January that caused a 180-degree turn?
Xavi’s January resignation announcement did not come out of nowhere. The 3-5 defeat was the final straw after weeks of poor results and terrible defensive play. Barca crashed out of the Super Cup and Copa del Rey and conceded four or more goals in defeats to Girona, Real Madrid, Athletic and Villarreal.
Club sources already hinted in December that Marquez was being considered as a temporary replacement should changes be required. Then, in early January, Xavi denied reports of a rift in the dressing room and defended his position. Just over two weeks later, he announced that the team needed to “change direction” and that could only happen with his departure at the end of the season.
“Chewed and spat out.” Who can replace Xavi at the helm of Barcelona?
Why Xavi decided to leave the post of Barça coach and do the Catalans have candidates for replacement?
By the end of February, Barca realized how difficult it would be to replace Xavi. Laporta’s dream candidates (such as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp) were seen as “impossible”, while other options were in doubt. Sources say the club’s management have questioned Flick’s track record in working with youth, raised concerns about Tuchel’s spells at Chelsea and Bayern Munich, are concerned about Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi’s lack of senior experience and fears Mikel Arteta will not want to leave Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Barça’s results and performances began to improve. They rose from fourth to second in La Liga and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2020, going 13 games unbeaten in all competitions. The run included impressive away wins against Atletico Madrid and PSG, which in turn led to calls for Xavi to stay. Laporta, Deco and Yuste publicly said they wanted him to reconsider his position, while fans at the Olympic Stadium regularly chanted his name.
Xavi said the team’s improvement was clearly due to his announcement and that without the “peace” brought on by his expiring tenure as Barca coach, these results, including the Champions League victory over Napoli, would not have been possible. However, his players have often contradicted this statement: “The team’s reaction has nothing to do with Xavi’s resignation,” Rafinha said after the win over Las Palmas in March. Despite all this, Javi continued to insist that he would not change his decision, although he began to add nuance to his answers with the words “as of today,” subtly leaving the door ajar.
The high of a 3-2 win over PSG in early April was followed by a crash just a week later. Barca, leading 1-0 in the second leg and winning on aggregate in the quarter-finals, suffered defeat after Ronald Araujo was sent off. They ultimately lost 4-6 to the French side, missing out on their first Champions League semi-final since 2019. Following the game, club sources said Marquez’s chances of taking over had increased, while stressing that the club still hoped Xavi would change his mind.
For their part, sources close to Xavi insisted that his decision to leave will remain unchanged regardless of the result of the match against PSG. However, that changed following last Sunday’s Clasico defeat to Real Madrid, which effectively ended Barca’s title hopes and also opened the door for Xavi to stay. Sources said on Monday that he is open to a meeting with the club to discuss his future.
This meeting took place on Wednesday. First, at the training ground, Xavi met with Deco and Alejandro Echevarria, one of Laporta’s trusted advisers. At that time, it was far from certain that he would continue working.
Sources say Xavi has not made any demands to remain in his post – it is understood he is fulfilling his existing contract rather than signing a renegotiated deal – but the club felt the need for changes off the pitch, particularly by bringing in an additional coach to work on physical training.
There was disagreement among decision makers over whether to stick with Xavi, but in the end the club chose stability.
What does this mean for Barça’s future?
According to some sources, the fact that Xavi and Barça have decided to continue cooperation creates the feeling of an uneasy truce. Xavi says he made the decision in the best interests of the club, but is it in his best interests? “There’s a bitterness to it,” one source said. “It’s difficult to work in conditions where at the first sign of trouble [тренерский] the headquarters may disappear.”
Both Laporta and Xavi insisted that neither side had laid down any conditions for Xavi to honor his deal, but there are likely to be additions to the coaching staff. Julio Tus, who was part of Antonio Conte’s staff at Chelsea, is likely to begin work on player fitness, although Xavi has denied reports of changes to his assistants. There have been criticisms that Javi’s assistants, including his brother Oscar, lack the experience needed to help him properly. “I have a wonderful team working with me that is fully involved in the project, Barça fans from birth and truly feel [клуб]” Xavi said on Thursday.
It is from this position that the club must now plan for a difficult summer transfer window. Xavi’s number one priority remains signing a defensive midfielder. The club also needs to clarify the situation with the defenders and decide whether they want to extend the loans of Joao Felix (from Atlético Madrid) and Joao Cancelo (Manchester City).
However, the problem that Barca faces is that they are not confident in their financial situation. They are currently over the annual spending limit set by La Liga and are subject to spending restrictions. Laporta says he hopes these restrictions will be lifted by the summer, but that is by no means a guarantee given the severity of the club’s economic problems. Some players may have to leave for others to come. Meanwhile, Real Madrid, who have won all three Clasicos this season and remain on course for a possible double of La Liga and Champions League titles, are looking to sign Kylian Mbappe from PSG as they continue to go from strength to strength.
However, no big changes are expected at Barca at the moment, despite Laporta’s previous comments that “defeats will have consequences”.
“Of course, losing has consequences and those will be the changes that Deco and Xavi will make,” the president said on Thursday. “We didn’t achieve our goals this season, but there were some positives. The project was consolidated, the youth were successful thanks to the bold decisions made by Xavi. This is really helping the club.”
“The consequences should not be drastic. We will take fair measures for the benefit of the project and Barça.”
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