While it does not impact the club’s involvement in any of the competitions, the loss that FC Barcelona suffered at the hands of Royal Antwerp in their last UEFA Champions League group stage match was still a damning one.
This loss, in particular, would not have meant much in other circumstances, but coming just after the loss to Girona in La Liga and an overall extended period of poor form for the club made it particularly painful for the Catalans and Xavi will be the one who takes the most blame for it.
As previously reported here, Xavi is already expected to deliver without any excuses, and Barcelona is in a state of emergency. However, a new report from SPORT claims that Xavi will continue to be the manager of the first team, as he still has the absolute confidence of Joan Laporta.
The report mentions that the Catalan club believes that Xavi has enough credit for his name to keep working on the team without any ultimatum or warnings. Still, this credit is not unlimited, and the situation will once again be assessed in January if the current crisis is not mitigated.
Despite the breathing room available to Xavi, the report mentions that there is still a lot of anger in the Barcelona Board of Directors on how the team is playing, and especially on the performance of some of the players.
Furthermore, Laporta, Deco, and Xavi also had a conversation among themselves before the match against Antwerp, in which the current situation of the team was analyzed.
The three individuals agreed on most aspects, but Xavi was asked to be tougher in the dressing room and be more demanding of the players who have been considered untouchable up to now.
In addition to the poor performances of some of the players, the Barcelona hierarchy has also shown concern about players playing out of their natural positions.
Xavi will try to put things right in the upcoming match against Valencia as Balde will return to the left flank, and Cancelo to the right, and changes will also be seen in the attack.
One of the facts that plays in Xavi’s favor is that despite the poor performances, the Catalans are still alive in all the competitions. They have already advanced to the knock-out rounds of the Champions League and are still within a coverable distance to the top of the league.
However, Xavi has a difficult period of time coming ahead, and if he is unable to steer his team successfully through the Spanish Supercup and the Copa del Rey, things can reach a boiling point.
