From the trough to the championship to the roller coaster of collapse!
After Cruyff took charge of Barcelona for eight years, there is no manager who has been in charge of Barcelona for more than five years. Even after Guardiola, no one can go beyond 3 years.
In the past two and a half years, Xavi has gone through a rollercoaster ride from picking up from the slump, winning the La Liga title for the first time in four years, and then crashing this season. Did he delay Barcelona in the process?
01. From Expectations to Loss of Control: Xavi Lost Defence?
a. From the back of the tight fence to the line of defense that leaks everywhere
Xavi's first and a half seasons at Barcelona were based on the attacking rhythm of the attack, with the attacking combination of Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scaring the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Napoli.
BARÇA COULD WIN THE LEAGUE TITLE LAST SEASON, AND A KEY POINT WAS THAT THE BACKFIELD FOUND A BACK COMBINATION. Araujo and Balde were in charge of the confrontation, while Christensen and Kounde were good at playing and advancing.
Xavi's preference for Alonso at centre-back is the same as Christensen's, and his skill and consistency are complementary.
The team once faced Real Madrid to complete three consecutive kills, that is, Araujo can limit the opponent's wingers, and at the same time, Barcelona's overall placement speed is very fast, and the four midfielders have skills and movements, so that Real Madrid can't find space to exert their strength.
Including the use of Raphinha in the winger position, his deep retreat has a lot of tactical value for Xavi's overall defence.
The problem is that after Sergio Busquets' departure this season, the Barcelona midfielder has become much worse when dropping out, lacking a defensive leader who is truly dominant.
At the same time, Araujo's form has also declined recently, and he has played a very important role as a barrier as the point with the highest strength and the highest success rate in the Barcelona defense.
However, Araujo wants to play well, Busquets' selection and the ball when switching between attack and defense, as well as goalkeeper Ter Stegen's command and control of the penalty area, have a lot of impact, and without them, Araujo is a little lost.
b. Self-destruction of the Great Wall! Who mixed the line with water?
In the summer window, Barcelona paid Cancelo and Felix on loan for a low price, which was a good deal, but it was not a reinforcement for the title.
Both Felix and Cancelo have flaws that cannot be made up for in defence. At the same time, on the offensive end, they are not so suitable for the system, and rely more on individual ability or a flash of inspiration to win the highlight of a clip.
After Barcelona completed the 3-2 reversal score, a key turning point was when the opponent counterattacked, Cancelo incomprecedibly moved to the middle, missing his own defense area and the opposite Guedes.
As a result, Solrot, who performed extremely well, played a diagonal cross from the middle to the area that Cancelo should be responsible for. After Guedes entered the penalty area, he scored a beautiful shot, and it can be said that Cancelo and Peña achieved the opponent's reversal.
Not only this game, but Cancelo's problems on the defensive end have also been around for a long time. Even in this season's Spanish derby, Cancelo as a winger has had problems with his defensive efficiency.
At that time, Xavi chose to replace Cancelo halfway, which was questioned by many people. But Cancelo can't come back defensively, and it is clear that Barcelona has insufficient numbers at the back.
02. From the trough to the championship to the roller coaster of the crash, how much responsibility does Xavi have to bear?
a. Xavi's tactical characteristics: fast offensive and defensive transitions + midfield advantage
When we see a coach leaving, we tend to overlook the beauty of his past successes. Xavi took over Barcelona in the trough and also had a winning streak and a big win against Real Madrid.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Xavi's team transitioned quickly and sharply, and when playing in a midfield four, the overall movement of the team was crisp and tight.
In the final of the Spanish Super Cup last season, Barcelona not only defeated Real Madrid 3-1 to win the championship, but also allowed Real Madrid to shoot only once (0 shots on target) in the first half.
At that time, Barcelona could be described as a complete victory, beating the opponent to the ground.
Xavi used a midfield four for Barcelona, with Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Gavi combining the balls brilliantly, and De Jong running to cover the action.
This wave of Busquets, Pedri and Gavi's passes connected into the penalty area, even if it was destroyed, but Lewandowski on the outside shot again, it was still a great threat.
The ball bounced off the post, and Balde's follow-up shot was a true portrayal of the Barca team moving like a tide.
With Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, that Barca team picked up more speed in attack. Of course, the key point is inseparable from Busquets' passing and acceleration.
Xavi is keen to renew Sergio Busquets' contract, but it seems that no one else at Barcelona has plans to do so except him. Even in the case of Dembele, the same is true.
Without Xavi, Dembele would have left on a free transfer after his contract expired.
b. The midfield is still creative: neither end of the pitch is working
Xavi's biggest pain point this season is that after the departure of Busquets, the new arrivals Romeu and Cancelo have greatly reduced the defensive intensity.
Even the arrival of Gundogan and Felix has a negative effect on the defence. However, the team's offensive creativity is still excellent, and Pedri's passing threat is even more unique in La Liga.
Helplessly, Lewandowski's decline is too obvious. In this game, Barcelona reversed from 0-2 to 3-2, and Lewandowski played little role.
The only assist was due to a mistake on the ball. Gundogan has scored a lot of goals, and he has a lot of value in attack and can make up for his shortcomings in defence.
However, Lewandowski's decline has made Barcelona's offensive end irreversibly worse than last season.
Eight goals were scored from 60 shots, but Lewandowski had a whopping 11.87 expected goals and wasted 15 great scoring chances.
But if Lewandowski scores a few more goals, Barcelona will have a smooth ride in the league for a long time, and there will not be so many embarrassments and twists and turns.
To make matters worse, after Ter Stegen's injury, Barça's second goal was Pegna. He has little attacking ability and is slow to get down the ground in front of goal, and his only advantage is that he has solid fundamentals and is not prone to low-level mistakes.
But Villarreal scored a total of 7 goals (2 disallowed), Peña only made 1 save, especially this goal, and his level of play is obviously not as good as most Super League goalkeepers.
It can also be seen from the statistics that Peña's average rating per game is the 6th from the bottom among all the goalkeepers who have played in La Liga.
The problem is that the goalkeeper who scores less than him has played 1-3 games, that is, the substitute of other teams. In other words, if Peña leaves Barcelona, it may not be easy to find a job as a substitute goalkeeper in La Liga next season.
03. Who can succeed Xavi and can Barcelona bring in a coach?
A. Does Laporta still want another Guardiola?
Since the successive selections of Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola, Laporta has been confident in his managerial vision, which may be why he has been so difficult as to give Koeman, who is on the rise, a minimum of resources.
It is also why when Xavi is about to leave, the names most closely associated with Barcelona are Barcelona B coach Marques, former La Masia youth academy Motta, and La Liga dark Horse Girona coach Michel.
The problem is that they basically have no experience in coaching in Europe, let alone leading teams with big clubs. If you have Barcelona's DNA, you may be able to condense the dressing room, otherwise coming to the giants to lead the team is completely different from being in a small club.
Always thinking about finding a new Guardiola is like hoping that La Masia will produce another Messi, which is a bit of a sword.
Of course, it is not ruled out that Laporta may invite Klopp or Mourinho this time, but from his personal style, it is unlikely that this matter will succeed, even if Klopp is put in the headlines, there is a little sense of "Messi returns to Barcelona" propaganda routine, and it is unlikely to come true.
b. Barça's waters are deep: it will keep many candidates away
Before leaving Barcelona, Koeman led the team in a total of 67 games, with a record of 40 wins, 11 draws and 16 defeats, and helped the team win the Copa del Rey.
When he took over Barcelona, he made a huge financial sacrifice, and after his dismissal, the management also asked him to give up liquidated damages. You must know that Koeman did not let Barcelona go on the right path, but the summer window trade ruined his tactical board.
In a way, Harvey had the same problem. Everyone knows that Xavi's favorite is Dembele, and Aubameyang is the most suitable type of striker for him, and it may be impossible for players to leave, but it is a strange thing not to buy the same type.
There is an old saying in Barça: unity makes us stronger! The problem is that Barça is too prone to infighting and discord. As long as a few games are not won, the manager will be at risk of shaking the managerial position.
And this Barcelona team has too many places to adjust, and the possibility of fluctuations after the new coach takes over will be very large, and if you can't get enough trust, it is likely to "come and go".
Conclusion:
Xavi, who once allowed Real Madrid to shoot only once in the half, once won by four goals at the Bernabeu, and who could lead Barcelona to almost set the record for the fewest goals conceded, left like this.
Not many people even think that Xavi has helped Barcelona and brought the team back on the right path. In this way, how many coaches dare to meet such a challenge?