The four shared their enthusiasm as Barcelona players. And, with their nuances, they defend from the benches a style of play that is brewing within the walls of La Masia. They know each other well because their successes and trajectories are intertwined. Always with Barça as a link. Now, separately, Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Luis Enrique (PSG), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) and Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona) are also four of the eight coaches who will be in the Champions League quarterfinals. Except Arteta, everyone has trained Barça at the Camp Nou. But Arteta’s San Sebastian talent also has the Barça seal. As a player, he went through La Masia. As a coach, he began his career as Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City for three years before leaving for London to manage Arsenal. Now Arteta, who will face Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, aspires to win the Premier League from his mentor, who is already in his eighth season at the helm of City and who will seek a place in the semifinals trying to beat the Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola has won 14 titles as Barça coach, including two Champions Leagues. One in the 2008-2009 season, when he beat Manchester United in the final in Rome, and the other in the 2010-2011 campaign, also against the Red Devils but at Wembley. To achieve this he counted on the talent of three legends such as Leo Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández. Three players who in 2010 shared the podium to win the Ballon d’Or. Xavi, who came third in that vote, considers Guardiola to be the best coach in the world. Despite what is said in the surroundings, that players like Gündogan decided to change Manchester for Barcelona and that others like Bernardo Silva were also willing to leave City, current European and treble champion, to play at the Camp Nou, Xavi and Guardiola have a good relationship. Competition is healthy. And bidirectional. City were also interested in the young talent of Lamine Yamal or Pau Cubarsí, indisputable for Xavi.
As a footballer, Xavi won up to four Champions Leagues with the club of his life. The last was the 2014-2015 season with Luis Enrique on the bench. He is also the last to date of a Barça that, despite leaving its mark in Europe with technicians who make a difference, has gone eight seasons without winning it.
Xavi and Luis Enrique also have a great relationship. Both have exchanged messages on WhatsApp since they found out that they would meet in the Champions League quarterfinals with the first leg in Paris this Wednesday and the return leg on April 16 in Montjuïc. “I’m coming maki,” the Asturian said to Xavi, using the affectionate nickname that the latter adopted when he was a player. It was precisely Luis Enrique, who won nine titles with Barça, who convinced him in the summer of 2014 to continue in Barcelona for another year. The years passed and Xavi was no longer indisputable. But he was important for the club and continued to offer quality minutes. Thanks to that conversation, Xavi not only lifted the Champions League to the skies of Berlin. He also experienced the second treble in the club’s history. The one from Terrassa is not the only one who let himself be convinced by Luis Enrique. Last summer, before his first season at PSG, he snatched his beloved Dembélé from Xavi. More healthy competition.
This is Xavi’s third year at the helm of Barcelona. And, unless success and money say otherwise, it will also be the last by his own decision. After winning the League and the Super Cup last year, the Champions League is the shortest path for a Barça that is second in the League, eight points behind Madrid. Four games separate him from the Wembley final. It is the shortest and most complicated route for a much more earthly team than in past eras.
