That Xavi Hernández gives importance to what is said about him or his players is human. He happens to all of us. We feign toughness but deep down criticism, to a greater or lesser degree, affects us, especially intelligent ones. Depending on the limit of our sensitivity we choose our jobs. And those who have the luck and talent to become elite footballers should know that having calloused skin like a dinosaur is part of their profession. I exclude the teenage player from the equation, who must be protected both inside and outside. In that sense, hiring Bojan is a success. Lamine Yamal may need you.
The Barça player (of legal age) must be prepared to withstand great pressure, and the club must provide him with all the tools to cope with it, including the best psychologists if required. It goes with the million-dollar salary and the choice of a profession subject to great public exposure. We are talking about a show followed by millions of viewers. There are sane fans, but there are impatient, impertinent or imbecile ones. There are journalists who are balls, moderate and acidic, others who have made their radicalism a rod to fish for followers. It is what it is.
Pointing out a supposed external enemy is not new at FC Barcelona. There is no better detector to know if the first team has carburetor or not. Now they don’t do it, ergo “they attack us.”
Xavi has received more than good treatment in general terms. When he arrived he stepped on padded ground because it was understood that the context was detrimental to him (inherited squad) and, furthermore, he is who he is: one of the most powerful figures in the history of the club. But two years have passed and the promised football does not appear regularly. The nerves of the environment are actually yours.
Xavi’s blood had been boiling for a long time and on Sunday he let himself go. His skid, without intending it, has managed to distract attention, freeing the squad from stress, a very Cruyff-like maneuver that he would do well to take advantage of. The problem, as he well knows, is not bad press. It’s the bad game. Energy, therefore, is better spent there.