Barcelona head coach Xavi is quickly losing confidence in the side’s hierarchy as manager. The Catalan side recorded a rare loss at home to LaLiga leaders Girona on December 10th. They were then also shockingly beaten by Royal Antwerp in Champions League play this week. As a result of the recent stumbles, Xavi is in a “weak position” at the club.
The coach even admitted following the European loss that he needed to turn things around as soon as possible. “Yes, I’m worried,” Xavi stated Wednesday night after the loss. “It is normal.”
“The team isn’t feeling comfortable. We have had a bad streak of negative results. We have to be critical. The opposition is generating a lot [of chances against] us and it is costing us too much. The positive point is that we are in the round of 16.”
AS is now reporting that Barca brass is not happy with the team’s recent results. The news outlet even claims that club president Joan Laporta called the coach following the Girona loss. Confidence in Xavi among the Barca execs is also apparently extremely low as well. Deco, Rafael Yuste, Joan Soler, Enric Masip, Bojan, and Laporta are not currently thrilled with the job of their manager.
Along with the losses, there are also issues with communication regarding which players would travel for the Antwerp match. Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gündogan and Ronald Araujo were all set to stay in Spain during the week. Nevertheless, all three eventually made the trip to Belgium.
Xavi then stated that he told Laporta and sporting director Deco of the changes. A subsequent report, however, claimed that Laporta insisted on the logistical alterations. Deco has since said that these types of calls are down to the manager.
“It was decided that everyone would travel and whether Lewandowski plays is up to the coach,” said Deco. “The calls are up to the coach, but nothing has been agreed upon with him. We are all fine, there is no need to worry. In football, there is news every day and what we have to do is win because there are always things to prove.”
Despite the loss away to Antwerp, Barca still managed to win their Champions League group. They finished on the same amount of points as Porto but edged the Portuguese side on tiebreakers. The Spanish club will now be in a more advantageous seeded side of the knockout round draw. These matches will take place in February and March.
Barca, however, is underperforming domestically. The club currently sits fourth in the LaLiga table following the home defeat to Girona. Not only are they now seven points away from the leaders, but the Catalan side is also five points away from bitter rivals Real Madrid. Former Barca boss Ronald Koeman was previously fired for being six points behind Los Blancos in 2021.
Xavi and the Spanish club will try to right the ship against Valencia on Saturday, December 16th. Los Ches is also struggling at the moment as well. The typical strong side is now 11th in the Spanish top-flight table.
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