Barca has declared the appointment of the club's legend, Xavi Hernández as Barcelona's new coach on an agreement which is part of the current season's remainder with two additional seasons.
Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman, who was kicked out in the previous month after a depressing season. Xavi has started with a formal presentation, and declared as Camp Nou's new head coach, and has directed his first training session already.
The 41-year-old made a record of 767 appearances for Barcelona and won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues during his Catalan club days. He also contributed as a key player during Spain's glory runs from 2008 to 2012 Euro champions, when they were the 2010 World Cup champions and crowned the European Leagues. He was widely known as one of the greatest of his generation, with the former midfielder calling time on his career in Barcelona in 2015 and taking on a new path with Qatari side Al-Sadd SC.
In 2019, Xavi eventually hung up his boots before he was appointed as manager for Al-Sadd. Ever since the appointment, he managed to lead the club to seven trophies, including the one league title. In May, he agreed on a new deal with the club and extended his contract up to 2023.
The champion midfielder has never lost interest in returning to Barcelona. During his interview with CNN's Becky Anderson back in 2017, Xavi stated that he aims to help them have an excellent performance for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. One of his biggest dreams for the future was indeed to coach for Barcelona.
Xavi's newest position comes with Barca currently sitting in tenth place in La Liga with 16 points in total from 11 games, which sits nine points behind Real Sociedad, which ranks the number 1 spot.
What's Been Said about Xavi Returning as a Coach?
A Barcelona statement said that "FC Barcelona have concluded with an agreement with Xavi Hernandez to become the coach for the first team throughout the rest of the current season and the upcoming two seasons."
Al Sadd stated in the club statement that "Club administration have agreed on the transfer of Xavi to Barcelona followed after the payment of clause stipulated within his contract. Al Sadd added that Xavi has been a key part of their history and wishes him the best for the future.
How Challenging is Xavi's New Role as a Coach?
Xavi is the highlight appointment within the Blaugrana faithful. However, it will take a long grind for him to flip the team's fortune due to the poor start of the 2021-22 championship.
Barcelona has lost three Liga matches, including the devastating Clasico loss at home to Real Madrid, as Koeman has eventually failed to set a new dream team after Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and many other key players left this summer.
New members Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia have yet to tap their full potentials, while Sergio Aguero has been ruled out long-term due to health issues. Also, the Catalan club ranks ninth place in La Liga while also being under pressure of being eliminated out of the Champions League during the group stage.
Xavi hopes to get things started smoothly, with Barcelona traveled to Celta Vigo last weekend before entering an international break, which offers more time for their new leader to adapt to the new surroundings.
A Rough Start for Barca with a Three-Goal Collapse
In the most recent match, Barcelona threw away three goals during a half-time lead as Celta Vigo made an epic comeback and scored in the last 90 minutes in La Liga last Saturday.
Barca's unlucky strikes seemed to continue as Ansu Fati experienced an injury that had given the team an early lead and eventually had a hamstring problem.
The goals from Memphis Depay and Sergio Busquets had Barcelona in a 3-0 lead after 34 minutes. But Celta returned with Iago Aspas's strike with two-goal ended with the 3-3 draw.
Can Xavi Bring Barca Back on Their Feet?
It's now Xavi's responsibility to pick up the pieces and as Barcelona's new coach. Barca's poor defence and lack of managing a game when they looked in charge will turn as a slight surprise to Xavi, but Fati's hamstring issues still remain a problem. Especially in the crunch Champions League game with Benfica as an opponent on November 23rd, right after the international break.
Due to a calf strain, Eri Garcia was also called off while Nico Gonzales seemed to be uncomfortable as a substitute before the hour. As Fati will likely be absent from the field, this will cause a heavy blow for Barca and Spain. The 19-year-old may not be playing for the World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Greece in the following week.
