From seeing even qualification for the Champions League in danger to ecstasy for the giant step to conquer the first League since 2019. Barcelona has gone from night to day. From being in a long tunnel – only one Copa del Rey between 2020 and 2022 – to seeing the light and being able to caress his first big title and why not lift a national treble. In 16 months with Xavi on the bench, accompanied by a million-dollar investment, Barça’s comeback has been spectacular and can be rewarded. The sports lever has worked.
Quique Setién and Ronald Koeman never won a classic as coaches. They couldn’t even tie it. The Spaniard lost 2-0 at the Bernabéu just before the pandemic broke out. The Dutchman suffered three defeats, two at the Camp Nou and one at Valdebebas. Barcelona seemed to be far from Real Madrid, a couple of steps below, even three, unable to compete thoroughly and stand up to a long race like the League.
Barcelona’s victory in the Super Cup in Riyadh in January certified that the team was once again up to the club’s demands. The coach had completely shaken off the complexes that had been embedded in the blaugrana subconscious. Xavi has definitely changed the cycle in 2023.
To begin with, the direct duels have taken a complete turn, a sorpasso. After the change of coach, Barça has won four of the six classics, the last three consecutively. The one from Terrassa has only succumbed once in 90 minutes against the whites. The other was in overtime.
One only had to look at the league table when Xavi, from Qatar’s Al Sadd, was introduced, to make sure that the club was in a difficult crisis, depressed and fearful. The man from Egar took the reins of a team that only had 17 points in 12 games and was 10 behind Madrid. The technician has turned the dynamic around. He put him fourth in the Champions League, then he placed him second, he made him believe that he could fight and now he is comfortably installed in the vantage point with 12 points behind his great rival. That is to say, he can even afford to slip in five games (three losses and two draws) between now and the end of the championship.
Koeman could never be the leader and, on the other hand, Xavi has chained 14 straight days in first place. The numbers this season are record. In his first 26 games, in the 21-22 League, he accumulated 56 points. But it is that this course has been exceeded with 68 and has only yielded two defeats (Bernabéu and Almería) and two draws (Rayo and Espanyol). In total, he has collected 124 of the possible 156. A regularity and competitiveness beyond any doubt.
Xavi’s numbers stand out but certain decisions behind closed doors that endorse his method also stand out. He has managed to teach the best version of Ter Stegen and Dembélé based on confidence, he is getting a lot of performance from Raphinha (9 goals and 9 assists), we must point out the explosion of Balde (26 starts) or have achieved that the midfield has lots of arrivals in the area. With the two goals from Sergi Roberto and Kessié there are 19 goals for the media.
The technician has shown courage to make decisions on the fly and move pieces on time. Araújo was invented as a winger to stop Vinícius (he also tried it with Rashford) and he has found a balance by adding a false winger fourth midfielder (usually Gavi) in big games instead of playing with two pure wingers.
The most commendable thing is that the technician has had to work between many shocks. He has lost important men with injuries of more than two months like Araújo (before the World Cup) and now Pedri and Dembélé, in addition to having to trick Lewandowski with the three-match ban. After the classic, De Jong and Aráujo ended up injured. In principle, the ailments are mild. Both avoid traveling with their teams. The idea is that they are ready against Elche (April 1) and that they do not miss the Cup classic at the Camp Nou. There will be a final at stake and a new cycle.
