Reporter Han Bing reported that there was no Messi, no Neymar, no Suarez, no Iniesta and Xavi... Barca, who were at a loss on the offensive end in front of the winter window, actually relied on three new signings Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and A. Traore, as well as Pedri who recovered from injury and Dembele who regained trust, as if they had found the feeling of the "dream team" of the past overnight. Unbeaten in six games and scoring four goals in four games, four holes were punctuated by veteran teams such as Atletico, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, as well as Italian powerhouse Napoli, and Barca's "February Storm" swept La Liga and the Europa League.
In the previous 31 games of the season, Barca have scored only four goals in one game. Harvey took office for 3 and a half months, plagued by low morale and injuries in the locker room, struggling to push forward the metabolism in his own way, forcing Laporta to bring him the necessary new signings, and finally survived. Barca, who were both out of the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey a month ago, were desperate, but they were reborn in just one month. Marca Radio reporter Gomez is perhaps the most accurate definition of Barca's "February Storm": "Barca in February proved that Xavi is an omnipotent genius, because of his qualifications, his understanding of football, especially his knowledge of Barca, he controls everything: the press conference, the team, the board, the fans... He makes all the difference. ”
Barca were able to bounce back in February with such a stormy performance, in addition to four new signings Ferran Torres, Aubameyang and A. Traore and veteran Alves completely changed the style and efficiency of the offensive end, but also because the rookies Pedri and Garvey, who had high hopes, recovered from injuries in time. In particular, Pedri, who missed 21 games due to a hamstring injury, allowed Xavi to finally be able to line up the ideal midfield combination in the new year. These 4 new signings are the protagonists of Barca's "February Storm", but the real director is Still Xavi.
When Xavi took over from Barcelona last November, he was in the mess. Aguero retired from the army due to heart disease, Bryce witt, Fati and Pedri were injured for a long time, and only Memphis, who was in unstable form, and Luc De Jong, a high school striker who was not valued by Harvey, were left on the offensive end. So much so that no one can even transfer from the second team, Ezazuri, Akmachi, Bald, Utegra to start from the front, this lineup is difficult for even Barca hardcore fans to accept.
In midfielder Xavi can only be patched together temporarily, F. De Jong and Busquets are still struggling to find the state, and can only rely on the young player Garvey to pick up the girder. Although Barca, which is mixed with the first team and the second team, still rebounds as desired, it is almost difficult for Xavi to fully realize his tactical thinking, because the combination of personnel in the midfield is stretched, and many times it can only be difficult. The lack of width and speed in the attack, and the lack of efficient shooters in the penalty area, scoring goals has become the biggest problem of every game for Barca. Only two goals were scored in six Champions League group matches, and only one goal in four consecutive league games before February.
But with the arrival of three new offensive signings from winter city and Pedri's injury, Xavi can finally implement his La Masia tactical concept more ideally. Barca are no longer just a delightful game process, but also an inevitable goal. Scoring three goals at the Estadio Maradona at half-time and finally beating Serie A powerhouse Napoli 4-2, the Catalan media has been impatient to build momentum after qualifying for the Europa League: a new era for Barca is about to be born, and Xavi's "Dream Four Team" has taken shape. Pedri straightened out Barca's midfield attack, with Traore and Ferran Torres opening up the width of the flanks and speeding up Barca's attack as a whole. No one expected Aubameyang to find the shooting boots in the penalty area so quickly, but the root cause of the high productivity of the Gabonese shooters is due to the diversity of Barca's attacking methods.
Xavi's tactics are not just La Masia's traditional pass control, but also include a combination of quick counter-attacks, set-pieces, long-pass counter-attacks and side breaks to take advantage of speed, width and height. More three-dimensional and comprehensive than the familiar La Masian ground penetration. The previously unappreciated high school striker Luc De Jong can actually be activated, which shows the variability and flexibility of Harvey's tactics.
Harvey replaced Koeman on November 6 last year, and made his Catalan derby debut on November 20, which is 100 days away. Although the three new signings in the winter window are the key figures of Barca's "February Storm", behind the three shiny new signings is Xavi's silent efforts to carefully grind tactics and adjust the mentality and state of the players. The trident composed of 3 players is the catalyst for Barca's rocket-like attack power, but the foundation is a series of "quantitative changes" that Xavi "polished" Barca from technical and tactical concepts, details, employment and psychology.
Before the winter window, the three veterans pique, Busquets and Alba were once considered the main reason for the team's poor performance this season, and even questioned by the media and fans whether they should consider leaving the team after the season, because they all looked impossible to return to their ideal state. In midfield, the expensive F. De Jong suffered the biggest crisis of trust after joining Barca, and was long questioned that he could not integrate into Barca's tactical system, and the dutchman in a slump was also a common discounted bargain in Barca's signing rumors. Equally disappointing is the young right-back Deist, who has failed miserably against his rivals with veteran Alves, who are Barca's first choice for selling cash-outs in both summer and winter markets, but have never been able to close because they have not reached Barca's psychological price.
But under Harvey's patient tutelage, they all found themselves in excellent shape in the "February Storm". Bartomeu's Barça relied more on superstars such as Messi, Suarez and Neymar, covering up the disconnection of tactical formations and the singleness of offensive routines. And Barcelona in the Xavi era, there are almost no top superstars, Aubameyang, Traore and Ferran Torres are now old or young, are not top-notch, the midfield staff is also young, the veteran is paired with almost inexperienced newcomers, but such a combination of personnel has played a gorgeous football that the Catalan media called comparable to the Pep Guardiola era, which shows Xavi's skill.
This "Harvey team", which was pinned on high hopes, was generally welcomed because of la Masia. With the exception of Aubameyang, Ferran Torres, Dembele, F. De Jong and goalkeeper Ter Stegen, almost all other main or rotating players are from La Masia. Pedri is considered "Iniesta II", with Garvey and Nico rotating in midfield, the defensive line of Araujo, E. Garcia and Mingissa have been able to pick up the girder, the offensive end Xavi has achieved a double set of attacking power, and even Luc De Jong and Memphis have regained confidence.
The Madrid media even began to worry that Real Madrid, which is 15 points ahead of Barca, may not be able to secure the championship trophy. This is not necessarily alarmist, but it also proves from the side how much Xavi's Barcelona has brought a big impact in February.