The season is still long, and so is the list of objectives that Barcelona has for this campaign. The Blaugranes have successfully managed to reach the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, something that was a great goal for this season. Moreover, Barcelona are now also aware of who their opponent will be.
However, before they can even reach February for the Champions League encounter, Barcelona already has to face specific criticism. Many fingers are being pointed at Xavi Hernandez, current head coach of Barcelona, for the downwards trajectory of the club.
Yet, while there are many of those who critique him, there are also those who continue to defend him. As highlighted by Spanish outlet SPORT, current Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain is among those who continue to believe that Xavi should be given more time.
Asked about the current progress of Barcelona and how Xavi could be held responsible, Txiki’s response was rather opposed to that whole idea:
“What we need to do is reach February in the best possible form. Let’s see how we all arrive at this point because it’s crucial. You can’t judge anyone in November or December because there’s still a long way to go and it doesn’t make any sense.”
Formerly a director of Barcelona himself, Txiki is obviously a man who has known both the club and Xavi himself. In his opinion, Xavi still deserves to get to manage Barcelona for the rest of the season. Given his history as a player and as a La Liga-winning manager last season, Xavi possibly deserves this chance to turn around the tide for Barça.
Txiki also complimented Barcelona while speaking about them. He also said that their desire to win La Liga this season is not to be thrown away just yet:
“You can play better or worse, but Barcelona has qualified as the group winner in the Champions League, which wasn’t easy considering the strength of the opponents. In La Liga, they are there, six or seven points away, and there’s more than half of the season left.”
He even went on to compare the situation of Barcelona with Manchester City:
We [Man City] are also a few points away from the league leaders and we will try to catch up. The priority is for the team to reach the decisive phase while recovering their level. That’s where everything is at stake.”
Both Manchester City and FC Barcelona remain active participants in the Champions League for now. Having qualified for the Round of 16, both the English and Catalan clubs have their respective opponents revealed as well.
