FC Barcelona is undoubtedly not going through their best moment as a team at the moment. The Catalan giants have suffered both domestically in La Liga and on the continental stage in the Champions League.
In fact, the performances have been so worrying that the post of Xavi at Barcelona is suspected to be in danger.
While different sources offer different accounts of how the Barcelona board feels about Xavi, it is undoubted that tension is growing. Pessimism, worry, and a lack of belief in this Barcelona team has begun to rise across the fan base.
However, it seems that the criticism and complaints are not only coming from Spain. Beyond the walls of Barça’s own country of origin, the Old Continent continues to look down on Barcelona, according to the latest report by Diario AS.
Over in Germany, the primary focus of the criticism has gone towards Robert Lewandowski. As per a recent insight by Sport1, the Polish striker’s performance has been described as a ‘fiasco’. The article went on to describe his match as follows:
“Barcelona advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League as the winner of their group, but at the end of this phase, they were defeated by the desperate Antwerp.”
“After the league defeat (at Girona), Barcelona were embarrassed again. Especially for Robert Lewandowski, the duel with former Bayern star Mark van Bommel ended in a disaster.”
Similarly, another German outlet, BILD, also chose to target Lewandowski:
“A shameful defeat for Lewandowski. After losing in the League to Girona (2-4), Barcelona’s next defeat is against Antwerp in the Champions League.”
Even ESPN chose to chime in with their own words of discouragement. Their direct criticisms were also, rather unsurprisingly, focused on the performance of the Polish ace of Barcelona:
“Robert Lewandowski: from the sofa to the field. It was unusual to see the Polish striker on the grass 48 hours after Barça published the call for the match without his name. For 72 minutes, he crossed the field like a ghost. He had no influence on the disastrous performance of his team.”
Over in England, the DailyMail did not want to be left behind either. The article from them, however, chose to instead focus on the uncertainty of Xavi’s future as Barcelona coach:
“Barça suffered its third defeat in seven games and the pressure increases on Xavi despite finishing first in the group. They are first in Group H, but they ended the game with a disastrous performance that, three days after a 4-2 defeat against Girona, leaves huge doubts about Xavi’s future as a coach.”
Lastly, French outlet L’Equipe had Oriol Romeu in mind to highlight as a weak link:
“(Antwerp) leaves the competition with its first victory in Group H, against the Catalans, in crisis. Oriol Romeu was guilty of two goals.”
As it stands, it seems that the entirety of Europe sees this Barcelona side in a negative light. The recent losses have been painful, and the media does not help with its words of further criticism. However, it is now the duty of Xavi and the players to bounce back and ensure that this season does not go to waste.
