Xavi Hernández: The Collapsing Love of Barcelona

First Sight

Under the management of Ronald Koeman, another Barcelona legend, the club experienced one of their most disastrous seasons, by their standards. Although, to be frank, he was obliged to plant flowers on a concrete.

Barcelona found themselves amidst a financial catastrophe and a series of managerial challenges; whilst influenced by questionable choices from the club's devious higher-ups. Simultaneously, they were also facing the imminent expiration of the contract of their greatest ever player, Lionel Messi; all in the middle of a global pandemic. It was a huge mess.

Considering all the circumstances, Koeman did a rather decent job as a stop-gap option, winning one Copa del Rey trophy along the way; but Barcelona needed something fresh, and they knew who to look for.

Xavi was sharpening his tools in his first managerial role for Al-Sadd in Qatar, where they played visually and tactically stunning football—the kind you would love to see at Barcelona. Even though his appointment might have looked like a missing piece of a big puzzle, Xavi’s inexperience in the managerial world was yet to be tested.

He arrived in the middle of a rough season, a Messi-less Barcelona; something that had never happened before. It inevitably posed a significant challenge for the club, players, and especially Xavi himself. They had to essentially replace the heartbeat of the club in a short amount of time, with very limited resources.

As if managing Barcelona, even with Lionel Messi, was not a huge task in itself. Xavi had his burden multiplied, but he understood the risks and the challenges that lay ahead.

In the 2021/22 LaLiga season, he managed to salvage a second-place finish, despite having to rely on youngsters and Luuk de Jong. It was definitely one to forget; but Barcelona, with their re-elected president Joan Laporta, learned many valuable lessons, both on and off the pitch.

They strengthened the team massively in the season after, but they had to make some major business deals in order to accomplish it, even went as far as completely renaming the stadium. Robert Lewandowski, Jules Koundé, Raphinha; a complete renovation. It cost Barcelona €153 million just for those three players. However, they also secured some relatively brilliant free transfers, including Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen.

It only took Barcelona and Laporta one transfer window to completely change the structure of the club, and it deserved praise. They went on to win the league that season in a dominant way, allowing no more than 20 goals. For comparison, their arch rival Real Madrid, who finished second, conceded 36.

Not only did they win LaLiga, but they also clinched the Spanish Super Cup by defeating Los Blancos 3-1, with Gavi putting a performance to remember. Despite the UEFA Champions League group stage failure, it was overall a remarkably improved season for the Blaugrana. It was the first sight of success.

Heartbreaker

The sunny weather of the city of Barcelona does not mirror the way the club are being ran. After such a promising foundation Xavi has built, one would think they would go even better this season. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Barcelona opted to let go of their veterans in Jordi Alba as well as Sergio Busquets in particular, whom Xavi begged to stay. After the departure of the defensive midfielder, they opted for La Masia graduate Oriol Romeu, who had a great season for Girona, to merely fill his position.

As Xavi had predicted, it turned out to be one of the main reasons why Barcelona collapsed. Busquets, even in his twilight years, was the glue of the midfield, and it was the one crucial thing that they missed. Romeu did well in his first couple of months, but as the 'Barcelona pressure' kicked in, he lost all his form and confidence.

The defensive midfielder has arguably been the most important position since Pep Guardiola's arrival, yet the club never planned ahead for Busquets' impending decline and departure; in typical Barcelona fashion.

Their summer transfer window was also confusing to say the least, with selling Ousmane Dembele, one of their most key attacking assets, replacing him with João Félix, who still has question marks over his most comfortable position. Not to mention that Félix has been out of form for quiet some time, and his favoured position might not even exist at Barcelona.

Their summer transfer window was also confusing, to say the least; selling Ousmane Dembele, one of their key attacking assets, and replacing him with João Félix, who still has question marks over his most comfortable position. It is not even daring to say that his playing position might not even exist at Barcelona. Furthermore, Félix had been out of form for quite some time, while being actively engaged in multiple quarrels with the people of his parent club, Atlético Madrid.

They also brought in another Portuguese on loan, João Cancelo. Since his disagreements with Pep, he has had a couple of loan spells outside of Manchester City, but not one could be confidently said to have been successful.

This is where Laporta’s relationships bring more harm than good. One of his friends, Jorge Mendes, the agent of the two Portuguese loanees, convinced the club president that his players are a good fit for Barcelona. Laporta failed to take command, leaving Culés to bear the responsibility for his incompetence.

While Félix and Cancelo are undoubtedly talented players, factors beyond their performance on the pitch should also be taken into account. These factors may have contributed to their lack of impact during their previous stints before joining the Blaugrana colours.

No one can definitively confirm whether Xavi has a say in signing players, but there are certainly aspects beyond his control. Injuries for example, Barcelona have also been fairly unlucky in that front, with Gavi suffering a crucial ligament tear in November and Balde rupturing his tendon at the start of the year—two massive blows.

That said, Xavi can control one thing for certain: his relationships. The arrival of €40 million Vitor Roque in January has been nothing short of disastrous. The 18-year-old Brazilian has scored a couple of goals for the club, despite the abysmally short and inconsistent game time he has been given.

Sure, Roque is a newcomer, not only to LaLiga but to Europe as a whole, thus he may need some time to adapt, but sadly, that is not the problem.

Reports have been coming out as of late saying that Xavi is not counting on him, not even as a back-up option. These reports are not baseless either, considering the questionable way Xavi has been managing Roque’s game time, especially given that he did not come for cheap. Mind you, Roque was supposed to come from Athletico Paranaense in June, but Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, insisted on signing him early, understandably so.

Once again, the problem does not even lie in the fact that Barcelona decided to sign him early; similar things happen all the time. The issue is that Xavi, Deco, Laporta, or whoever else may be in charge are certainly, definitely, not cooperating well with each other and their surroundings, and it is hurting careers.

Roque’s agent, Andre Cury, came out to the media saying, 'Xavi does not even talk to the boy,' even suggesting that a permanent move away from Barcelona is on the cards if things do not improve.

This may not be the main reason why Barcelona had such a disappointing season, but it is not a good look for the management, as it has been an ongoing trend over the last few years. The chaos just does not stop in Catalunya.

It was a campaign of heartbreaks for Barcelona. Just a few months ago, Xavi even announced his intention to call it a day when the season ends, until a recent meeting with Laporta, where he persuaded Xavi to fulfill his contract.

Was it the right decision? Or should they have moved on? These are the questions that will have a million different answers, but for now, Xavi and Barcelona must continue their half-broken relationship.

Written & Posted by The Sweepr on 12/05/2024

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