Owing to the recent poor form of the team, Xavi Hernandez is under ever-increasing pressure at FC Barcelona. The Catalan team has been unable to impress on the pitch, and while they still got some positive results in La Liga before the international break, their draw against Rayo Vallecano last night will further put Xavi under fire.
Clubs officials, including President Joan Laporta, have reiterated their faith in Xavi in recent weeks, but there is no doubt that Xavi is under huge pressure right now.
Things have reached such a point that possible successors to Xavi are already being contemplated in the media, and as SPORT has reported, one of the individuals who can become a future coach at Barcelona is the current Real Sociedad coach, Imanol Alguacil.
Alguacil’s Real Sociedad plays a highly attractive style of football, which is traditionally associated with Barcelona. He was congratulated for his style of play by Joan Laporta when the two met at the Marca Awards ceremony this week in Barcelona. Deco and Pedri were also present at this event, and these two also conveyed their admiration for Alguacil’s work.
Alguacil’s contract at Real Sociedad ends next year in June 2025, and while he is happy at La Reale, he knows that he will eventually have to leave the club. He is already the second longest-serving coach in La Liga, only after Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid.
This is his seventh season at the Anoeta, and he started coaching the first team after having trained the lower sides at Real Sociedad. He has a good record of working well with young players and thus is well-suited to the current Barcelona squad. All these attributes make him a very strong contender to become the head coach at the Catalan club at some time in the future.
