How Xavi transformed FC Barcelona
By Jim James
When Xavi took charge of FC Barcelona in November, the club was in… a state. A ways from top 4, just choked a 3-goal lead vs Celta Vigo, and odds-on favourites to win the Europa despite still having 2 group games left in the Champions League.
Now, Barca is 3rd in La Liga, 4 points safe in the top 4 and 3 points from 2nd place with a game in hand, won 4-0 in El Clasico, the 6th game where Barca have scored 4 since the start of February, and dominating the Europa League. How have they done it? Xavi seems like the answer. In this post I will be talking about how Xavi has changed the landscape of the team, hope has been restored, and we could be getting back to our best sooner than expected.
Xaviball
The first thing that Xavi has been doing is implementing his new style and tactics into FC Barcelona – Xaviball. Since Luis Enrique left, all the managers – Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien, and Ronald Koeman – have been playing negative styles of football, but Xavi’s style of play – affectionately called Xaviball by the Barca faithful, sees new free-flowing and positive play, as if Pep Guardiola was back, utilising intense attacking play, attacking triangles, and gaps in the defense. Xavi’s attacking style has seen him score 4 goals against teams 6 times since the start of February, including against the two toughest teams in the league – Atlético and Real Madrid. It has provided 1.96 goals per game since his arrival, and 2.81 since the start of February.
Transfers/Transfer Philosophy
Xaviball has been all well and good, but before February, Xavi just seemed like “another one”. Another manager to fail to calm down the dressing room and leave before 2 years had gone. However, the January transfer window changed all that. Maybe it was the dire financial straits by FC Barcelona that forced them to go cheap, but whatever it was, it worked. Signings like Ferran Torres, Dani Alves, P-E Aubameyang, and Adama Traore have flourished since January, with Aubameyang being the most notable of them all, with 9 goals already for the Catalans, showing that he is far from finished. The signing of Pablo Torre from Racing in the summer as well as Emre Demir could prove smart business, and they could still yet sign Haaland, because nobody has a clue what is going on there. The transfer philosophy has changed massively than in years gone by, and Xavi has started doing a very un-Barcelona thing to do: Get the most out of his signings.
Players
I don’t really know how to make this short, so I’ll just say “players” here. Xavi has done well in boosting the morale of his men, and also making it so that they respect him, follow his leadership, and just overall get better. Xavi is an ex-player, a legendary one at that, and that really gets the ex-players respecting the coach rather than him being some nobody who peaked as a substitute in the Segunda Division. He also implemented fines for players who violated his strict code of conduct, which has really made the players 100%, as well as he’s gotten to have good one-on-ones with every player, knowing them personally, and feeling pain that they’re feeling, so that they can feel heard and trust him.
That is all for today. I know, a short post, but I wrote 3000 words yesterday, and trust me, in the next while you’ll be getting a lot more content, and juicier stuff as well. I’m Jim James, and until next time.