The last UEFA Champions League group stage match between FC Barcelona and Royal Antwerp is scheduled for tonight, with the match not having a lot of importance for either of the sides.
Despite the low stakes involved in this match, it has already generated some controversy even before the team takes to the ground, especially for Barcelona.
Barcelona’s initial squad for the match against Antwerp excluded several important players, including Ronald Araujo, Frenkie De Jong, Ilkay Gundogan, and Robert Lewandowski.
The exclusion of these players was understandable as all of these players are among the most important ones in the current squad, and giving them a rest for this match would have been a good idea.
Having already secured a place in the knock-out rounds, Xavi could have used this match to put some fringe players and youngsters on the pitch.
However, Araujo, Gundogan, and Lewandowski were later called up to join the squad traveling to Belgium for the Champions League tie. Initially, it was claimed that these players had been called up so they could keep training with the squad, which would remain in Belgium for an extra night.
But a report from SPORT now claims that it was orders from Joan Laporta himself which forced Xavi to call up the trio to travel to Belgium.
Barcelona are coming into this match after a damning loss to Girona, which can hurt the Catalan club’s prospects of defending their league title. In such a context, Laporta’s insistence on forcing Xavi to go to Belgium with his strongest squad seems understandable.
However, Xavi should still be given the liberty to make these sporting decisions, as he is the head coach of the team. Such interferences from the top may not turn out to be productive for the club in the long run, and can also dampen the good relationship between Xavi and Laporta in the future.
