There is a balanced blend of both experience and youth currently at FC Barcelona. Many of the team’s own veterans, alongside arrivals from elsewhere, come with a lot of baggage and experience attached. However, given the need of Barcelona to rely on homegrown talents, more and more new faces have emerged too.
However, now that Xavi Hernandez is leaving, numerous secrets of his tenure are coming into light. One such secret was the reasoning behind why the departing Barcelona coach apparently did not want to continue with Robert Lewandowski and why he felt that the Polish ace was not right for the club in its current situation.
As brought forward by SPORT, Lewandowski’s name was among those in a list of players that Xavi Hernandez believed were eligible to be let go of by Barcelona since they did not either properly get integrated into the team or something about them was simply not right for Barcelona at this vulnerable stage of their prestigious history.
According to the report, there were several reasons behind why the Barcelona coach did not wish to count on the 36-year-old anymore.
One of those reasons was his age, alongside Lewandowski no longer being a player who is willing to engage in energy-demanding executions such as high pressing or being the one to lead a collective press for the team around himself.
However, one of the more surprising reasons that SPORT has brought to life is the fact that Xavi believed Lewandowski was not the right kind of player Barça’s youngsters need right now.
A demanding and distant persona, Lewandowski’s attitude towards the younger starlets of the team remained quite professional and stern, and Xavi believed that this also emulated a lack of empathy, something that the youngsters need to be able to develop properly.
By no means was this an attack on his professionalism either, and Xavi continues to credit the former Bayern striker as a player of merit and high demands.
However, the Barcelona coaching staff also knew that whoever leads this young team forward as a senior needs to be understanding and more compassionate with those around himself, and only then would these young players truly be able to come out of their shells.
