Combination of Xavi and Barcelona. Does it make sense?

Lately, football is like a roller coaster ride for professional coaches. All is well until the steep drop off comes and out of great confidence you are suddenly in the depths of the dropouts who are hungry for another chance. Will Xavi Hernández be that golden treasure on a desert island?

Claim he won’t head to his hometown team? That’s really worth a chuckle. The Qatar-Barcelona phone line has been ringing more and more these days. That’s why there is no statement yet about Xavi staying at Al Sadd until the end of the season. There is a reason for that. And please, we are talking about a former footballer. Not the club, which has not hesitated to make a statement.

“In response to circulating speculation, the Al Sadd management would like to reconfirm that Xavi is on a two-year contract at the club. We are fully focused on the upcoming matches to maintain our lead in the league and defend our title,” the Qatari team said on social media.

Many reports have turned the other way countless times. Such a status could have been a few days back. Quite possibly only because of grumpy fans who can’t imagine a quick change.

One condition has even been leaked from the information! The Sheikhs want club president Joan Laporta on a personal visit to their home city of Doha. They reportedly want to know if interest from his side in signing a new coach is the only point.

Maybe there’s an extra reason. At the end of this season, Barcelona’s contract with main partner Rakuten will come to an end. And as Al Sadd have a major sponsor in Qatar Airways, they could be looking to bring their source of money to sunny Spain as well. Where else but to the world’s biggest club.

Expected to return

So credible journalist Fabrizio Romano is still reporting on the ongoing communication between the two sides. Whether it is FC Barcelona or Xavi, the last word has not yet been spoken and the club is still without a coach. Even after yesterday’s Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev, where former defender Sergi Barjuan briefly took over as general manager at the Blaugranas.

With only a few weeks left, the Camp Nou may well see the beautiful return of a revered legend after a summer of woe. The kind of spark that will let the last hopes of seeing a better tomorrow flare up. But will there be an effect like Andrea Pirlo at Juventus Turin or Frank Lampard at Chelsea?

Yes, Al Sadd was the first team he coached. But in three years, with above average success! Has anyone wondered how he will play his last season in the league without a single defeat? He’s been sitting on his ass, pardon the pun.

Fifty-one players in all that time. He’s played over ninety rounded games, keeping a record of around sixty-two wins! He also added twelve draws and sixteen losses.

If he already has a nice collection of trophies with those numbers? Of course he does! He’ll take home a nice seven trophies. If Pep Guardiola has been called the successor to Johann Cruyff in coaching. Now it’s Xavi.

Good old Tiki-Taka?

He loves to play attacking football, keeping the ball on the ball as long as possible. That old Spanish style we still see today. He averages around sixty percent of the ball per game. The greater the overview of the game, the better the chances of winning. Simple philosophy.

In the Quatar Stars League, we often see lineups with the initial four. However, the 4-3-3 lineup changes to a 3-4-3 when we move to attack. When the Meruna lose, they immediately switch to a strong press.

“Having the ball is the way to defend,” he said recently on The Coach Voice. He loves to use the space on the pitch. He uses his extended wings to help create and spread the play wide.

He aggressively represses to get his team in control of the game. To gain possession as soon as possible in the event of a turnover, right at the opponent’s sixteen. Creating an advantage by outnumbering the opponent in a few passes. That’s how simple the magic is.

In the final verdict, Xavi is a certainty of what worked at the Camp Nou in its heyday. A lot of the new stuff hasn’t worked, so he’s going for the sure thing. And that certainty is exactly what Xavi Hernández is supposed to be. The prodigal son.

Sources: Transfermarkt