Hands off Hernández

Xavi is likely to tough it out and learn on-the-job in Barcelona but mixed messages are coming out of the club

Rob Palmer

Malaga

Friday, 15 December 2023, 16:02

Xavi Hernández is about to discover what privileges come with legendary status. Nothing will ever demean his incredible achievements on the field at FC Barcelona, ... but he's certainly under scrutiny as he cuts a lonely figure pitch side.

This is the biggest test of his fledgling coaching career. He won the lottery - literally - with his first job in Qatar. Apart from conveniently winning the jackpot in the Doha Bank draw, he claimed seven football trophies.

When he finally answered the call to return home, he looked assured, relaxed, and still fit enough to play. Two years later, he's developed the manager's twitch - the expression where they look into space when asked a searching question. He's gone from being adored to examined in a very short space of time.

Bear in mind that it's only six months since he led his club to the LaLiga title. It was his second trophy in his first full season in charge after winning the Super Cup. He was rightly lauded for managing success in difficult circumstances. Now, serious questions are being asked about his future.

I don't subscribe to the sacking culture and think it would be foolishly premature to consider relieving Xavi of his duties. This is his first test, and he needs to be given an opportunity to work things out.

In the past couple of weeks, he's clearly got things wrong. He thought he'd cracked it when he chose the same team for two season-defining games. They beat Porto to reach the Champions League knock-out stages for the first time in three years and followed it up by toughing it out against Atletico Madrid. Just when he thought he'd cracked it, it all went wrong.

The system that worked against the big teams failed spectacularly against Girona. It's accurate to say that his opposite number out-thought him. Xavi started to panic and made some very strange substitutions. Even the players who were introduced were played out of position. It looked like a completed jigsaw that had been strewn onto the floor.

His week worsened when he took his team to Antwerp. It was obvious that he was going to give minutes to his fringe players and allow some recovery time to the established players. That appeared to be the plan until Robert Lewandowski's name appeared on the teamsheet and the whole squad flew to Belgium.

The messages coming out of the club are mixed. From the outside, it appears that there are two divisions: Xavi and his backroom staff v the executive team. Sporting director Deco is assisted by another former player Bojan. They are supposed to be hands-off but keep appearing in the media. It doesn't help that B-team manager Rafa Márquez is also far more visible these days. He seems to have a debate whether the young players should play for him or sit on the first-team bench.

Personally, I think Xavi will tough it out and learn on-the-job. He's obviously made mistakes in recent weeks; his team isn't playing the traditional Barcelona way and his recent sides haven't included any Catalan-born players, which is a brave move.

Maybe he needs to bring in a mentor, an old head to bounce his ideas off? He's surrounded himself with trusty allies, even his brother is an assistant. Sir Alex Ferguson used to regularly change his first team coach; Jürgen Klopp has varied his assistants; Pep Guardiola is undoubtedly the boss, but he's always in conversation with someone on the bench and has changed his coaching partners frequently.

Xavi was always an influence on the pitch; it's now the time to flex his muscles and impose himself off the pitch.

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