Barcelona are undergoing a tumultuous period and were being managed by interim boss Sergi Barjuan prior to Xavi’s arrival. The club sacked Ronald Koeman on October 27 following a string of poor results that have left the club ninth in La Liga.
Many have backed Xavi’s credentials as a manager and believe he will be the ideal fit for the Barcelona hotseat. His former Barcelona and Spain team-mate Andres Iniesta has also lent him support as he takes charge of the Catalans.
Speaking to beIN Sports (via Daily Mail), Iniesta said:
The midfielder, who won seven La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues playing alongside Xavi for Barcelona, also wished him luck with the new challenge.
Barcelona boss Xavi has a difficult task on his hands
Barcelona are currently an extremely grim shadow of their past selves. The Blaugrana have won just a solitary Copa del Rey across the last two seasons and have been criticized for their uninspiring and drab brand of football.
Xavi has returned to his former club with multiple problems that require fixing. Barcelona desperately need to forge an identity for themselves, having struggled to find one since the departure of Luis Enrique.
They also need to move on from their aging players, including Xavi’s former teammates such as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Barcelona are currently dependent on youngsters to win them matches which is simply untenable.
The most recent example of that was their match against Celta Vigo over the weekend. Having gone 3-0 up before half-time, the Blaugrana’s lack of experience showed as they allowed Celta to fight back and collect a 3-3 draw right at the death. The match also displayed Barcelona’s most glaring weakness: their sub-par defense.
With minimal funds to work with, restructuring the team doesn’t look possible in the short-term. Xavi has seemingly taken up one of the most thankless, high-pressure jobs in football right now. It remains to be seen how he fares at Barcelona. He will hope to start by helping them climb up the league table and secure qualification for the Champions League knockouts.
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