After a very difficult month of January, in which FC Barcelona lost out on the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey trophies, and Xavi had to announce his decision to leave the club at the end of the season, things seem to be improving at the Catalan club.
Since the start of February, Barcelona have played three league matches, without losing any of them. The first match came against Alaves, which the Blaugranes won with a comfortable 1-3 scoreline.
Then Xavi’s men drew 3-3 against Granada on a rather unfortunate night for the Blaugranes. The Catalans also won their last match against Celta Vigo.
These performances have not only brought some stability to Xavi’s position at the club but are also being recognized by observers outside of Barcelona. This is evidenced by a report from SPORT which claims that Xavi is one of the candidates to win the Coach of the Month Award for February by La Liga EA Sports.
Xavi will be competing with two other notable coaches in La Liga, i.e., Quique Sanches Flores of Sevilla and Ernesto Valverde of Athletic Club. As things stand, these two candidates stand a better chance of winning this award.
Flores has effectively turned out Sevilla’s season since his appointment and like Xavi, lost points only in a draw in February. Furthermore, he got two important victories against Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid, and his team is now seven points clear of relegation.
Similarly, the former Barcelona coach, Ernesto Valverde, has also won the same number of points as his other two competitors, i.e., seven out of a possible nine. He led his team to victories against Mallorca and Girona, and his team is only two points away from a Champions League position.
There is still one match remaining for these teams to play in La Liga in February, and the league will announce the winner of this award in the coming days. Irrespective of whether Xavi wins this award, his candidature for this award alone shows how much he has improved things at Barcelona this month.