Xavi: If Barça don’t win titles, “then another coach will come”

mood clouded

At FC Barcelona, ​​the mood is clouded after the 3: 3 against Inter Milan in the Champions League and the 1: 3 in the Clásico at Real Madrid. Not only is the championship lead in LaLiga gone again, there is also a risk of the end in the “premier class” already in the group phase. “The situation is not the best,” said coach Xavi (quoted via “barca world“) at the press conference before the league duel with FC Villarreal on Thursday (9 p.m.). His current tally of 1.9 points from 50 games was last beaten by Radomir Antić in the club’s history in 2003.

“I will keep working to turn the tide and I will do my best. I’ll work even harder to convey to the players that it’s still about winning titles. It’s October and it’s a long way,” Xavi stressed. The former midfielder has been a sideline coach at Barça since last November with a contract running until 2024. Whether the 42-year-old will stay in charge for that long depends on when the Catalans start collecting trophies again. “If we don’t win any titles, then another coach will come,” the coach is certain. “With the efforts that the club has made, we have to fight for titles,” he said. Barça was one of the top spenders of the summer transfer window, investing €153m, with only five clubs paying more for new players. The amounts paid were only for Raphinha, Jules Koundé and Robert Lewandowski, while a quartet came on a free transfer.

“We built a team to be successful and I think that’s how I see it too,” said Xavi. While they have second place in the league, the Champions League is only third place. If Inter score three points in the remaining two games against Viktoria Pilsen and FC Bayern, who have had no chances or points so far, Barça would fail in the group phase even if they won two of their own like last year. The Blaugrana are prone to conceding goals in the “premier class” – completely different in the league, where no club has a better defensive. Meanwhile, Xavi sees “a lot of room for improvement,” especially when working against the ball. He said: “We have to be more aggressive, position ourselves better when we lose the ball, pull tactical fouls.” Xavi doesn’t believe that his team has a mentality problem. His team can prove that again against Villarreal.

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