Football
Xavi has changed Barcelona from the ground up, thanks to him the club is on the rise again
Catalan fans have reason to rejoice again after a long time. The new coach Xavi has completely changed the philosophy of the club and the team started to thrive right away. In the league, Barcelona even started to roll over their opponents, something the club was no longer used to.
Catalan fans have reason to rejoice again after a long time. The new coach Xavi has completely changed the philosophy of the club and the team started to thrive immediately. In the league, Barcelona even started to roll over their opponents, something the club was no longer used to.
Xavi has only been Barcelona’s coach since November, when he replaced Ronald Koeman on the bench. However, in four months he has managed to make unprecedented progress with the team. What has he changed at the club?
Xavi is known for his attention to discipline. As soon as he arrived at the club, he set a few rules that everyone must follow without fail. These concern both the members of the management team and, of course, the players themselves.
As far as the rules are concerned, the players have to arrive at least 90 minutes before the start of the training session, the implementation team even two hours. In addition, communal meals in the training centre have been introduced to both bring the team together and to help the management team supervise the diet of their players. In addition to the return of fines, Xavi brought in another set of rules.
These rules have clearly helped the team. This can be seen, for example, in Ousmane Dembele, who has started working hard under Xavi’s guidance, which is positively reflected in his performances in matches. No previous coach has managed to use Dembélé’s full potential.
At the same time, Xavi has put together a great team. There are many young and very promising players in the starting line-up. For example, Pedri, Gavi, Nico and García are worth mentioning. Combined with experienced players such as Dani Alves, Jordi Alba or Busquets, it looks perfect. Moreover, even with a younger squad, Xavi can afford to apply a more demanding style of play that simply works.
It should be noted that the new reinforcements have also fitted in well. Aubameyang has once again found his taste in Barcelona and is regularly rewarding the team with goals. Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay are also looking good so far.
Compared to former coaches, Xavi is also not experimenting so much with the line-up. It is clear from Barcelona’s performance that the squad has settled down and is showing great progress since the Spanish coach started.
Barcelona is thus undoubtedly on the rise. It has started to dominate league matches and is no longer winning by the narrowest of margins. The current situation of the club gives the fans hope for a return to the world’s elite.
Source: Transfermarkt, FC Barcelona