On Monday, Xavi officially made his debut in Barcelona, and he returned, only this time as manager.
Harvey, 41, was promoted to barcelona first team before the 1998-99 season, and by 2015 he was on his way to Thad, Qatar, where he returned to Camp Nou after six years. He was one of the protagonists of the stadium. When Xavi appeared at the unveiling ceremony, carefully looking at the former Spanish national team and Barcelona midfielder brain, the years have not brought much change to his appearance, bright eyes, calm and calm speech, as the new Barcelona coach Xavi and people's previous impression has not changed much, but this time, Xavi's challenge is really not small.
Also a representative of Barca's "No. 4" style of play, and also a midfield master known for his superb foot skills and excellent reading ability, Xavi is easily reminiscent of Guardiola, but because Guardiola's coaching experience is too successful, people also have high expectations for Xavi. In fact, as a coach, Guardiola's achievements are clearly beyond the player era, while Xavi has a more brilliant playing career, he is one of the core figures of the Spanish dynasty and the strong era of Barcelona, and can be called one of the most successful players in Spanish history. Guardiola's style of play as a player is closer to the traditional back, he likes to move around the middle circle, constantly observe the position of his teammates and send accurate passes, while Xavi pioneered the way to lead the position attack by receiving passes from teammates with a lot of running, and he prefers to plan the team's attack with short passes. They are all commanders on the pitch and are seen as intelligent players who really know how to "play with their brains".
But this is just as a player, as a coach? Xavi and Guardiola will have the same football mentality, but the situation facing Xavi now is very different from Guardiola when he took office in 2008, because the team guardiola takes over does not actually lack good players, and it is difficult to get too much expectation in Barca's squad now. In November, Barca only won four league games, 11 points behind the top of La Liga, without the stars of messi, Neymar, Suarez and other stars in the past, and many people can't even say what the problem with Barca is now. As a result, Koeman bears the brunt of being fired, and Harvey, who is a former hero, returns as a "savior". But what can Harvey change now?
We may as well assume that if the new coach is a coach with a completely different tactical thinking from his predecessor, such as the Italian Conte, then whether he succeeds or not, he has a high probability of making a major change in Barca's current tactics and lineup, but in fact, from Guardiola, Enrique, Valverde, Setien to Koeman, they all believe in passing football, Xavi is the same, of course, as the "tiki-taka" midfielder soul, Xavi may have a more unique understanding of passing football. But the players barca can rely on now have not changed: Fati, Depay, Dembele, De Jong, Busquets, Pedri, Pique, Alba and others are still players who can help this Barca team, and even Xavi's main squad will not change much. For this legendary star that everyone is very familiar with, public opinion will have more trust and tolerance, Harvey's return can make the team atmosphere better, and as for more changes, it will still take time.
Spanish media said that Xavi's favorite targets include Sterling, Kingsley Coman, Olmo and others, while Laporta said that Barca will bring reinforcements in the winter window, and Barca may have to solve some difficult problems through reinforcements. Xavi's contract has been signed for two and a half years, which will be a critical period to determine whether Barca can successfully "restart", Xavi's presence will ensure that Barca's competitive direction does not deviate, and his reputation as a former celebrity can also help Barca maintain a good team atmosphere, but whether Barça can really recover depends on the club's economic situation, the success of the signing and Xavi's personal coaching ability and other factors.
(santiago-wang)