Xavi’s Barcelona 2.0: How he is revamping the club as manager

Xavi Hernandez ceaselessly makes reference to Barcelona as being the most “difficult club in the world” to be part of, whether or not you are the coach, as he is now, or as a participant, as he was for twenty years earlier than leaving for Qatar in 2015.

The purpose, Xavi explains, is as a result of profitable is not sufficient. You must win with the club’s DNA.

What the club’s DNA is, precisely, is the supply of many late evening bar discussions in Les Corts. You might discuss for hours about the intricacies of how the club’s fashion has developed below Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola over the previous 35 years, however basically it pertains to the three P’s: positioning, possession and stress.

Barça wish to play attacking, thrilling soccer. They wish to play by way of the strains from the again, urgent excessive, with one-or-two-touch interaction the place potential. They need gamers who can convey supporters to their toes, who can rating good targets and who can win them matches and trophies.

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Despite profitable LaLiga final season — their first league title since 2019 — there have been complaints that Barça weren’t hitting all these KPIs. An exaggeration of that got here to the fore after the 1-0 Clásico win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the semifinal of the Copa del Rey in March.

Missing a variety of gamers on account of damage, Barça have been compelled to adapt their sport, handing over 60% of possession to Madrid, who didn’t handle a shot on the right track. They have been criticised for his or her efficiency. With 53% of the ball in the return leg, Barça misplaced 4-0 at Spotify Camp Nou.

That, in essence, illustrates the problem dealing with Xavi this season as he makes an attempt to create model 2.0 of his Barça aspect. After constructing a league-winning group final season on the again of defensive solidity, sources informed ESPN that Xavi now desires his group to enhance as a lot with the ball as he feels they’ve with out it since he changed Ronald Koeman in 2021 with the group ninth in LaLiga.

This weekend’s Clásico — stream LIVE on Saturday, 10 a.m. ET (U.S.) — at the Olympic Stadium is the good setting for Barça to indicate how they’ve progressed since final season. A protracted damage record — Sergi Roberto and Jules Koundé are undoubtedly out, whereas Pedri, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong stay uncertain for Saturday — means any conclusions drawn this weekend is not going to be definitive, however Xavi’s planning for the season was with video games like these in thoughts.

Building the base

Barça have utterly overhauled the squad since Xavi was appointed. Defenders Kounde and Andreas Christensen each arrived final summer season and kids Ronald Araújo and Alejandro Balde each grew to become regulars as a part of a new-look again 4 that, with the assist of goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, offered the spine to Barça’s league title. Iñigo Martínez has joined since.

The Blaugrana conceded simply 20 targets in LaLiga final season, their lowest-ever complete throughout a 38-game marketing campaign. They wracked up 11 1-0 wins and whereas they rode their luck at occasions, Xavi’s aspect appeared utterly totally different defensively to the one which had conceded 38 targets in every of the earlier three seasons. Kounde — or Araujo in particular circumstances, such as in opposition to Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. — performed at right-back, permitting the group to have the ability to change to 3 centre-backs when wanted.

However, what Barça gained in defence, they misplaced in assault.

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Despite the additions of Lewandowski and Raphinha, Barça managed simply 70 league targets in 22-23. It was simply the second time in 15 seasons, relationship to Guardiola’s first in cost in 2008-09, that they’d did not hit greater than 80 in a single marketing campaign. They have registered greater than 100 on seven events in that interval. The solely different time they did not hit 80 was in 21-22, once they scored 68 after Xavi changed Koeman.

Xavi, due to this fact, was clear in his prognosis of what was wanted to enhance the squad in the summer season. He wished a right-back, a substitute for Sergio Busquets (now with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami) and extra creativity in the center of the pitch. Due to the club’s monetary scenario, he was compelled to sacrifice on squad dimension, choosing high quality over amount. Barça have simply 19 gamers registered to the first group, though children like Lamine Yamal and Fermín López are additionally now established regulars.

Right-back steadiness

The arrival of João Cancelo on mortgage from Manchester City is the greatest indicator of how Xavi desires Barça to play. The Portugal worldwide has successfully changed Kounde at right-back, with the Frenchman reverting to centre-back.

Cancelo is as snug going outdoors the winger down the flank as he is stepping right into a midfield position the place he can present numerical superiority in central areas. He is averaging 3.94 take-ons per 90 minutes this season with a 68% success price, compared to Kounde’s 1.11 final season with 50% success. He is additionally creating 1.26 possibilities per 90, scoring twice and creating one purpose in seven appearances. Kounde created 0.59 possibilities per 90 final season, scoring as soon as and helping three targets throughout 29 LaLiga outings.

None of these numbers are shocking given the profiles of the two gamers, however they spotlight the distinction Cancelo makes in the closing third.

Without the ball, although, Barça are extra vulnerable to conceding targets as Xavi is nonetheless striving for a steadiness between being inflexible defensively and enhancing going ahead. They have already let in 10 targets this season in 10 league video games, when it took them 31 video games to concede that quantity final season. There was a component of them overachieving final 12 months at the again, thoughts you. They conceded 20, however their xGa was 33.61 as Ter Stegen served as an occasional saviour in purpose. That has reverted to the imply this season, with the 10 targets conceded coming with an xGa of 9.88.

Replacing Busquets

Xavi mentioned the key to Barça’s summer season can be how nicely they changed Busquets, who left for Inter Miami when his contract expired. There was no cash for the club’s first-choice choices, which included Real Sociedad’s Martín Zubimendi and Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, so that they introduced Oriol Romeu again to the club after a decade away at Chelsea, Valencia, Stuttgart, Southampton and Girona.

Romeu began the season nicely, however there have been doubts about his high quality in current weeks, notably since De Jong obtained injured. Romeu is not thought-about at the stage of Barça’s different midfielders — De Jong, Pedri, Gavi and Ilkay Gündogan — however he began the marketing campaign as a vital a part of the group given his potential to anchor the midfield. But as this group performs extra video games, Romeu’s significance has waned: Barça look higher with the ball when he’s not concerned, posting a purpose distinction of +17 in all competitions when he’s not on the pitch. With him, their purpose distinction is +1.

That disparity is a big purpose why Xavi nonetheless desires one other deep-lying midfielder. In the short-term, as soon as De Jong and Pedri get better from accidents, the coach should resolve whether or not he desires Romeu sat in entrance of the again 4 or whether or not, as he pushes for a method extra classically attributed to Barça, it could be higher to take the handbrake off and select a extra attack-minded choice.

Creative midfielders

The arrival of Gundogan as a free agent from Man City didn’t sate Xavi’s urge for food for artistic midfielders, both. Sources clarify that one space the place he feels the group must get higher is connecting defence and assault. Asked in the summer season who his dream signing can be, he mentioned somebody with the profile of Santi Cazorla. City’s Bernardo Silva stays a long-term goal, albeit one who is out of the club’s value bracket.

Gundogan can carry out that position; so can Pedri, who is good, however has now missed 25 video games by way of damage since the begin of final season. That has left Barça depending on Gundogan to create from central areas. He ranks seventh in LaLiga for xA (2.35) and fifth for possibilities created (21), with no different Barça participant near his numbers. Ferran Torres and Gavi come subsequent with 10 possibilities created every; João Félix, Cancelo and Lewandowski have all created eight.

Sources add that Xavi’s teaching workers consider Barça will extra carefully resemble what Xavi desires from them when Gundogan and Pedri can have an prolonged run of video games alongside one another.

Variety and unpredictability in assault

Even with out Pedri, there have been glimpses of what this new Barça are able to, particularly since the signings of Felix and Cancelo. The Portuguese duo’s first two begins coincided with what Xavi dubbed “the best performances” of his time as coach to this point: the back-to-back 5-0 wins in opposition to Real Betis and Royal Antwerp in September.

Those victories featured all the things Xavi has tried so as to add to the group this season: Cancelo’s selection and creativity from right-back, Felix’s unpredictability in assault and Gundogan’s ingenuity. There has been no consistency since, although, even when Barça have proven resolve to come back from behind to earn factors in opposition to Celta Vigo, Mallorca and Granada in sustaining the solely unbeaten begin to the LaLiga season by way of 10 video games.

Losing Lewandowski and Raphinha to accidents hasn’t helped, however Xavi has discovered gamers in the club’s academy who’re in a position to tackle what some sources say has grow to be his buzz phrase for the season: bravery. He desires gamers to take dangers on the ball, to run at opponents, to attempt passes between the strains and to play with out worry.

“This generation of players coming through is fearless,” Xavi mentioned after 17-year-old Marc Guiu scored the solely purpose of the sport 30 seconds into his debut in opposition to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. “They look at me with a face that says: ‘Stick me on and I’ll show you I am ready.’ And they are ready. They have bags of character and bravery.”

It could possibly be argued {that a} sprinkling of the club’s La Masia academy in the first group is additionally a part of the club’s DNA. This group definitely has that; earlier than Guiu, it was 16-year-old Yamal starring in the comeback in opposition to Granada, and 20-year-old López serving to off the bench at Mallorca. Gavi, nonetheless solely 19, and 20-year-old Alejandro Balde are already first-team regulars.

Felix, on mortgage from Atletico Madrid till the finish of the season, is additionally enjoying an necessary position. His potential to drop deeper into midfield and create house is helpful, whereas he is additionally ready to take accountability for creating assaults, as he confirmed in opposition to Athletic when he arrange the profitable purpose for Guiu. With Ousmane Dembélé and Ansu Fati out of the club, Lewandowski and Raphinha damage and Torres experiencing inconsistent type, he’s rapidly established himself as a key a part of Barça’s revamped assault.

With only one purpose in seven league appearances from an xG of three.07, although, extra will probably be anticipated from Felix, beginning in opposition to Madrid on Saturday. After all, it is in these video games the place Barça could make statements.

Gerard Pique claimed Barça have been “back” after a 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in March, 2022. Xavi mentioned the 3-1 Spanish Super Cup win over Madrid in January of this 12 months was a turning level for the group. The Copa del Rey exit, three months later, introduced doubts to the floor given the fashion of their win in the first leg and one other notable big-game collapse in the return match.

Saturday is one other alternative to attract conclusions as Xavi, now two years and over 100 video games into his tenure, has the likelihood to showcase the place he is taking this younger Barça aspect.