October 28, (THEWILL) – After sacking Ronald Koeman on Wednesday night, Barcelona is in talks to name Xavi Hernández as their new coach. The club’s former midfielder is currently in charge of Al Sadd in Qatar, but he wants to return to the Camp Nou, and talks to release him from his Qatari contract are ongoing.
For several weeks, Barcelona’s board has been in discussions with Xavi about the job, and it has long been a matter of when Koeman will be fired. Because an appointment is unlikely to be made before Sunday’s home match against Alavés, Sergi Barjuán, the head coach of Barcelona B, might take over in the interim.
Having graduated through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy at age 11, Xavi played 767 times for the club before joining Al Sadd, where he retired and took over as manager in May 2019. Yet, despite his lack of top-level coaching experience, Xavi will be a popular and uniting appointment at La Blaugrana.
The 41-year-old was a key part of the Catalan club’s best period in history, winning La Liga eight times and the Champions League four times. He joined the club in 1992, made his debut six years later under Louis van Gaal, and left in 2015 with 27 trophies, 184 assists, and 85 goals.
As THEWILL reported, After a 1-0 loss at Rayo Vallecano, Koeman was fired, leaving Barcelona in ninth place, six points behind Real Madrid.
After a home loss to Real Madrid last weekend, fans attacked the Dutchman’s vehicle in a fit of anger in reaction to the travails of the club under his charge. Many of these fans believe Xavi can instil an attractive style similar to the one played by Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, in the glory years of Barca dominance.
Since joining Al Sadd in 2019, Xavi has led them to a league title and five domestic cups. Widely considered one of the best midfielders of all time, Xavi, who is renowned for his passing, vision, ball retention, and positioning, will see a return to the Camp Nou as a glorious path to follow.
Yet, today’s Barcelona is not the well-oiled machine that Xavi was a crucial pivot in and which won eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, while Xavi consistently ran rings around opposition players from his command centre in the middle of the park.
In a completely different season in La Liga, where the traditional duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona, and where the trio of Real, Barca and Atletico Madrid, used to hold sway at the summit, there is a feeling that the title can actually be any club’s to win, if they can earn it.
Already, Real, Sevilla, Real Betis and Real Sociedad are all joint top on 21 points. Atletico can join them with a win on Thursday away to Levante to make it five teams tied on 21 points after 10 and 11 matchdays. It is a demonstration of how close the competition has become and points to the promise of a stiffer run for the La Liga title.
It is due to these differences within the Barcelona team, its management structure and financial constraints on the one hand and in the larger picture of the tough 2021/2022 campaign that is already playing out on the other, that Xavi will be thrust to the helm of a Catalan side that has not risen beyond its mid-table place.
Beyond what he accomplished as a player for the club and the achievements in his time with Al Sadd in Qatar, the poisoned chalice that has become the manager’s hot seat in Catalonia will not spare a son of the academy. Fans may be patient for a while to allow him settle but, before long, even Xavi will begin to feel the heat.
If he is the one chosen, it is hoped that he will fare better, as a proud product of the Barca system, where others have found it difficult since the final years of Pep Guardiola.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
