Xavi Hernández caught the Barcelona board twice with the wrong foot. This is what they say in the offices of the Barça entity. The first was when he announced his early goodbye on January 27. “It is a terrible drain on mental health, on mood… To the point that you say there is no point in continuing,” he stressed after the defeat against Villarreal in Montjuïc (3-5). The second, when about three months later he changed his decision to leave. “Circumstances have changed. I have the energy, the strength and the desire to continue. They say that rectifying is wise and that is what we are here for,” he said on April 25, together with president Joan Laporta.
In both cases he spoke of his “culé” feeling, in both cases the decision had been made together with his work group. “It is not a matter of ego or money. It is a club issue: there is a winning project,” justified Xavi. He saw a future for his team and, obviously, for himself as well. A future, in any case, that undergoes scrutiny in each remaining game for Barcelona until closing the season against Sevilla on May 25, especially after losing second position in the table last week in Montilivi.
But Girona, their great executioner of the season, in game philosophy and in points in the League, has given Xavi’s boys a new opportunity, after the draw against Alavés last Friday in Mendizorroza. “Finishing second is very important because it gives way to another title,” said Xavi, who does not only think about the results. “We have to finish the season with good feelings,” added the Barcelona coach, before receiving Real Sociedad (9:00 p.m., Movistar). “Losing would be a setback. But there are four games left. We play against an extraordinary rival, Imanol has done a tremendous job with Real. They do things very well as a team. They are a rocky rival that will make things difficult for us, but we have trained well,” he said. “But,” he completed; “I don’t know which Real we are going to find. They do everything very well, good in low blocks, they press you well, they win duels, they are physically strong. They don’t let you make transitions… They are very well done. We will have a great team in front of us and a great coach. It’s going to cost us. I hope for a brave Real Sociedad tomorrow.”
It happens that despite the delicate economic situation that Barça is going through, the Barça leadership is not overly concerned about the money that the club would stop earning if it does not reach second place, close to six million euros for participating in the Spanish Super Cup. (it is played by the champion and the runner-up of the league, plus the two finalists of the Copa del Rey). This campaign, for example, he pocketed six for participating, plus another million after reaching the final. “We can agree on a friendly match that would give us an amount similar to what we would get for playing the Spanish Super Cup,” they say from Barcelona’s economic area.
The future of the team is worrying, cyclothymic this campaign, at times fragile, at other times for sure, undoubtedly more vulnerable than last year. In the previous season, Xavi’s first full season on the Barcelona bench, the team conceded 20 goals in the League (0.52), while this season they have conceded 43 (1.26). “As staff we also do self-criticism. We have had the Oriol options [Romeu], by Christensen… but playing without a defensive pivot has taken its toll on us. We have to regain balance. Fragility is my mistake,” assumed the Barça coach.
The absence of Busquets – he did not want to renew his contract and went to Inter Miami – broke Barcelona’s order. According to analysts, this campaign the team’s defensive structure has not been clear. Neither Romeu nor Christensen could erase the memory of Busquets, nor has a player been found to revitalize the team as Gavi had done, injured since last November when he tore his cruciate ligaments in Spain’s duel against Georgia. But the coach avoided talking about reinforcements. He then avoided putting pressure on the sports management. At least, he did it publicly. “Now, we can’t. It’s time to be together, there are four games left. We have to focus on the players we have, who are very important,” said the coach. And he completed. “There are two weeks left to finish the season and the objectives will depend on how the season ends.”
name dance
The dance of names that jumps from Xavi’s technical staff to Deco’s sports management has a limit: financial fair-play. For now, president Joan Laporta and treasurer Ferran Olivé, a key figure in Barcelona’s offices since the goodbye of Maribel Meléndez (corporate director) and Eduard Romeu (economic vice president), are optimistic: they believe that they will leave the income statement at positive and thus, with the help also of a more flexible Javier Tebas (president of LaLiga) they will be able to return to the 1×1 rule (one euro of salary mass can enter for each one that leaves).
While Deco works on the next season, Xavi continues to focus on the current season. “For us,” Xavi admitted; “It is very important to finish second and play in the Super Cup. But the planning is not going to change. The relief is to win tomorrow and the three remaining games.” Neither the summer planning nor the game planning this Monday changes. “Maybe there are players who can change the dynamic for these four games, but the eleven has been decided.” Barcelona faces Real Sociedad, Almería, Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla in the next two weeks, a short (long) end of the season for Barcelona: there is little (nothing) to gain for the team and for the club, a lot (everything) for Xavi. He needs games, especially air, so that it is not the board this time that catches him on the wrong foot.
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