Xavi's Barcelona: Champions against all the odds
It's been an uphill battle for Barcelona year after year but here they are, LaLiga champions and making progress, against all the odds.
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It’s August the fifth 2021 and as the clock strikes 5.51 pm local time, Culés around the globe will have their worlds shattered in a single tweet. Barcelona announce the impossible. The unimaginable. The unforgivable. Barcelona announce the departure of Lionel Messi. And time stops as the whole universe holds its breath.
It was a blow unlike any other that preceded it or any that came after it. It was a heartbreak—a heartbreak sportingly, a heartbreak financially, and a heartbreak livingly; one of those you cannot possibly comprehend unless you are a Culé yourself. How could you? Players come and go; they perform, win the fans’ hearts and they eventually leave or retire - it’s the way football works. The way life works, even. But Messi has never been bound by the rules of the mortal realm; his influence, magic and presence have roots in the unimaginable and the unreal. For all intents and purposes, Messi is immortal. Messi is football. And Messi is Barcelona.
But the aftermath of his departure, as vividly described by some Barça insiders as bringing an atmosphere of a ‘funeral’ to the squad, was only among the first in a series of immense blows the club would receive in the months and years to come. The pain, as unthinkable as it was, was only starting. And the root cause of it all? Mismanagement, complacency, greed and corruption. But also, crucially, money. The single thing the world - and therefore football - revolves around. Earth may orbit the Sun but it is surely fueled by money. As is everything else. After all, Barcelona officially cite money of all things as the single hurdle standing in the way of Leo’s renewal. And it’s also money that Javier Tebas claims will inevitably prevent them from bringing him back home and out of the jaws of Paris Saint-Germain come the summer-time of 2023.
With money, or rather lack thereof, Barcelona started falling deeper and deeper into the abyss. Without resources, you are as good as dead in the corporate world. And modern football is a corporate world. Soon, the financial fair play would tag in issues with the league, issues with signings, and registrations and subsequently, a tsunami of media and fan backlash, praying on every misstep, every wrong move or unethical thought. The dark times were well and truly upon the Blaugrana. And if it were up to anyone else but themselves, those dark times were there to stay. For good.
In the period between season 2021/22 and the present day, Barcelona waved goodbye to 36 more players in addition to Messi himself. A lot of them going out on loan and never returning, some retiring, most being sold for free or for peanuts and some running out their contracts. That, of course, weren’t the only changes in the post-Messi era. Coach Ronald Koeman would soon get the sack despite an optimistic start to his 10-game stint. Barcelona’s training sessions felt more like funerals; no one talking, laughing or enjoying their time on the vibrant green pitch of the Camp Nou, the Catalan fortress and a stronghold in world football. For all its beaches, warm weather and glamorous if not unique outlook, Catalunya felt more like a bleak version of itself - washed up, gloomy and depressed.
Xavi's bittersweet reign: Why can't Barcelona control games?
Barcelona have been on a path to rediscover their identity for several years now. Coaches like Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman all had different ideas of what that actually meant but none could bring it to life. At least not the way it was
But soon, a spark was ignited once more. Joan Laporta made his return, of course, and with him, soon, came Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona’s prodigal child. Needless to say, the expectations were enormous. Xavi inherited a broken squad, both physically and mentally, and minimum leeway. After all, that’s how things work at Barcelona; you either win, fast and with style, or you die trying, quickly and painfully. Because Barça, for all their glamour and status, are a place where hopes and dreams go to die for the ill-prepared. If you’re not equipped to withstand the storm, you’ll soon be lost in it. The likes of Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and others know this better than most. And now, so do Culés. But most importantly, so does Xavi. For a coach of very limited experience at the very top, this was always going to be an uphill battle. Barcelona are not Manchester United or Arsenal - and that’s not disrespect towards them. Barcelona won’t entertain 3+ years of experimenting before success starts knocking on the door. No, Barcelona want a coach for the long term who will also bring short-term results. That’s the equivalent of having your cake and eating it too.
As if that wasn’t enough, however, Xavi’s tenure was met with court cases, negative media campaigns, more fights with LaLiga and a myriad of on-the-pitch issues, ranging from injuries and suspensions to just pure, darned rotten luck. But in life, and football, you reap what you sow. And for Xavi, the early signs were all there: he revitalised the squad inside out, taking a bleak and individualistic atmosphere and turning it into a solid collective. All the while, Laporta was doing his (black) magic outside the white lines of the Camp Nou, pulling levers and making deals. Things were happening, in the immortal words of Gerard Romero.
But whatever happens outside the football pitch matters very little if the team doesn’t perform on it. Barcelona under Koeman were controversial, to say the least. There were games where the Dutchman’s systems, double-pivot or otherwise, made sense and the team was firing on all cylinders. But his mismanagement of the squad as well as lacking tactical input were always going to end one way and one way only - in failure. Xavi, too, has had similar issues along the way. His Barcelona are not the prototype Barcelona we grew up watching and cherishing; they are fast, direct, vertical and still sub-optimised.
Of course, one has to wonder, what is Barça DNA anyway? Some say it’s the accursed positional play. Others say it’s tiki-taka, as blasphemous as that term is. But the truth is, winning is Barça DNA. Still, winning isn’t enough. Winning a certain way is. And this is what Xavi struggles with the most. His 1-0 victories are impressive because they show character; they show this team, Xavi’s team, is capable of scrapping wins even if they don’t necessarily play that well. The more optimistic fans will say this is indeed sustainable as Barcelona have been doing it all season long. But is it a viable long-term solution? I’d still wager not. You predict a team’s ceiling or project success by the foundations they lay in the present day. How good is the structure? Is there an overarching idea present? Do they follow certain principles? Do they play to their strengths? All of that matters. A lot.
For them to be successful in the long term, Barcelona need to establish all of those aspects. They need to be the protagonist because their players need it too. It’s not to appease the purists among their fanbase. It’s not to look flashy or exciting. And it’s not for the sake of keeping the philosophy alive, as important as that is too. No, it’s because that’s how they get the best out of their players. You won’t get the best out of Pedri and Gavi by making them chase the ball, as much as the latter seems to enjoy that as well. You’ll get the best out of them by having them make the opposition chase it instead. When it comes down to it, the need for protagonism is pretty simple - if your players excel at being the protagonists, your style should match that too.
Xavi’s first season was void of any silverware but it was also a season where foundations were laid: new players were brought in, a rough system constructed and individuals were (re)introduced to the principles of that infamous positional play. Barcelona managed to claw their way back to a second-place finish in LaLiga and that was their limit for the time being. But optimism grew, as did team morale, and soon, performances followed.
On Sunday 19 March, on the last league matchday before the international break, Barcelona beat Real Madrid in front of almost 100000 people at the Camp Nou to go 12 points clear at the top of the table. And they did it in style; dominating the ball, pinning the opposition back and sustaining pressure until it yielded them the necessary result. They beat Real Madrid by being the protagonists. They beat them the proper way - the Barça way.
It is now almost 10.00 pm on the 14th of May and I’m writing this still ‘drunk’ on Barcelona’s title-clenching victory over Espanyol, almost two years after Messi’s departure and a plunge into darkness. But now, things are looking good. Barcelona are still flawed and have a mountain to climb. But Barcelona are prevailing nonetheless. They stared into the abyss and when it stared back at them, they didn’t blink. No, they kept going, kept pushing and kept winning. They don’t always play like the Barcelona of old but neither should they; this team does have a style, even if that style is different. Ultimately, Xavi may course-correct as better (and more suitable) players join. And if he deems it necessary. Or rather, if the results deem it necessary.
But we can’t tell what the future holds. After all, in football, things change on a whim. Good times often don’t last just the same as bad times don’t. But it feels good knowing it’s us who hold the strings of our own fate in our own hands. The job is not done, far from it and now is not the time to relax. But it is the time to reflect and acknowledge how far we’ve come.
Against all the odds, against the court cases, smear campaigns, rotten luck and heartbreak, Barcelona are champions of the 2022/23 LaLiga season.
And they deserve it. We deserve it.
So enjoy it. I know I will.
Força Barça
By now, the cat is out of the bag - I wrote a book! Anatomy of a Genius: Leo Messi’s Tactical Evolution at FC Barcelona is the culmination of (approximately) a year’s worth of research, interviewing, relentless watching of footage and dissecting of one of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch. And it’s finally available in all major online bookstores, including Amazon, Book Depository and Pitch Publishing’s official website which contains other sources as well.
To help you with the decision to buy (or not to buy) the book, I’ve also published a FREE sample chapter on BarcaFutbol! You can read it HERE. Either way, I appreciate the overwhelming support so far and hope you’ll enjoy reading this book as much as I did writing it.
Some say that it has been linked to the economics of Catalunya. I saw Ronaldinho, et al, from right behind the net, booting in the 'goals', along with E'too & the others, after they won in, Erm, 2004, I think it was. Tour bus through town & then Camp Nou.
Not sure what has gone on since, to be honest. But I do know that intrusive Press Photographers, no doubt some of them working for British Tabloids, we're very keen to get shots of team members, 'misbehaving', as is their want. That constant scrutiny is hard work, and now 20 years later, I would hope that young footballer's are more protected. Any famous footballer's team obvs has a Duty of Care.
I also think that Pep Guardiola going to Manchester United or City or whichever it is, didnt exactly help the period between than & now. Just my unqualified opinion. 🦥