Barcelona coach? A super challenge for everyone, for which no one is better prepared than Xavi

Xavi as head coach of Barcelona, which is going through a difficult rebuilding process, an economic crisis and a host of other problems? An incomprehensible move for many given his mere two years of experience in Qatar. But know that if anyone in the world is ready and able to lead this colossus, and in such a difficult situation, it is the 41-year-old Terrassa native.

The trend of hiring legendary players as head coaches, which has been taken up by big European clubs in recent years, is not going well. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is literally hanging on by a thread at Manchester United, Andrea Pirlo lasted just one season at the helm of Juventus and Frank Lampard’s involvement at Chelsea has also not gone nearly as both parties had hoped.

Barcelona made no less of a mistake when, in the summer of 2020, they reached for then Dutch national team coach Ronald Koeman, whose greatest qualification for the demanding job of manager was scoring the goal in the 1992 European Cup final that secured the trophy for the club.

No wonder, then, that now that the management of the famous Catalan big club has reached for Xavi Hernandez, with just two years of experience as a head coach, and that too at Qatari side Al Sadd, many supporters have been given the benefit of the doubt.

Scepticism, however, is almost certainly misplaced in this case. After all, the 2010 world champion didn’t get his dream job solely because of his name. Six and a half years after his playing debut at Camp Nou, he returns to his native region with a clear vision.

“People may say I’m not ready, but I am,” Xavi uttered in June during a visit to Barcelona on the subject of the Blaugranas head coach. “Quite frankly, I feel ready to coach Barca, I know the club and everything around it.”

Already as a player, managing a big club ruling not only Spanish football, he regularly discussed tactics and overall playing philosophy in depth with Johan Cruyff or Pep Guardiola. Likewise, he has spoken into the craft of, for example, Vicente del Bosque in the Spanish national team.

Gradually, he matured not only as a player, but also as an excellent tactician with great talent and the potential to become a coach after his career. That he was heading down this path is clearly shown by the somewhat masterful move to Qatar in 2015.

When he sensed he had nothing more to offer Barcelona, he accepted an offer from Al Sadd. There he spent the next four years of his career, passing on an unimaginable range of experience to younger teammates and, above all, he was already gradually becoming more and more involved in coaching youth teams.

He gradually learned, underwent all kinds of coaching courses, made new and new licenses before he made it all the way to the UEFA professional coaching license in June 2019. He was finally able to end his playing career and seamlessly move on to coaching – as he immediately took over the team he had been running around the pitch for.

From that moment on, offers from clubs all over the old continent came pouring in. But he calmly refused them all. The plan was clear, and he ruled out the path that Pep Guardiola had to take, i.e. to take over the Barcelona B team first and then to be promoted to the main team.

No. Xavi was convinced that coaching professionals in Qatar’s top competition and Asia’s Champions League would prepare him far better for his dream job.

“I can’t steer some ocean liner straight away, I have to start with a small boat, test myself and gain experience,” he told Marca two years ago. “I want to start as a coach in Qatar, because there is not so much pressure, and work my way up. My goal is to return to Barcelona one day.”

Al Sadd, meanwhile, has led the club to seven trophies. Sure, you can argue that the club is by far the richest in the country. But take a look around Europe for yourself. Even those with the greatest resources never have an easy path, that seven in the success column is so very impressive.

It has also played very significantly into Xavi’s hands that he has assembled almost entirely his own implementation team, which was with him in Doha until now and is made up mostly of people he got to know during his playing career with the Blaugranas. In fact, perhaps the only member not replaced will be goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente, who worked with Barcelona’s goalkeepers during the Xavi era.

It would be very difficult for anyone else to assemble such an experienced and cohesive team, ready to go into action immediately. This was a very important aspect of why Laporta and co. focused exclusively on El Maestro when selecting Koeman’s successor.

“If Xavi really takes over, there will definitely be a consensus among the fans. He has the best qualifications to become Barcelona coach,” a source told The Athletic two weeks ago. “He’s from Catalonia, he knows the club’s style and uses it, and he’s also a great analyst and strategist. Barca is the club of his heart.”

But that is far from meaning he will find himself in a comfortable position. “He’ll be under pressure virtually from the start to get immediate results and change tactics with minimal time to prepare,” thinks another source at a reputable site who is very close to the Blaugranas’ Ajax cabin.

In fact, Xavi is taking over the club at a pretty much critical time of the season for him. Barcelona, already in ninth place in La Liga, needs to stay within striking distance of the top four and will face a crucial clash with city rival Espanyol right after the national break.

To do so, it is fighting with all its might to qualify from the Champions League group stage, where just three days after the derby it also faces a relatively decisive duel with Benfica.

Barcelona’s new coach simply has to establish himself, show change and deliver results immediately. Taking over a team in such a position is a super challenge for anyone, but no one is better prepared for it than Xavi.

Source: The Athletic