Back on the podium: How Xavi has steered Barcelona’s season to safety

Back when Ronald Koeman was relieved of his duty, Barcelona had just lost to Rayo Vallecano, leaving them 9th in the league standings and had very little to envisage.

Even after Xavi had arrived, inconsistency defined Barcelona the best. Despite wins over Espanyol and Villarreal in the league, the team lost to Betis, were eliminated from the Champions League group stage for the first time in 21 years, followed by consecutive exits from Supercopa de Espana and Copa del Rey.

Three months into his Barcelona tenure and the team had not only suffered humiliating exits but had only bagged five victories out of 14 games across all competitions. 

To say Xavi’s presence in the Barcelona dressing room has always been influential would be an understatement. However, the key for the Barcelona board was patience; something that the team management instilled and are now bearing fruits.

The work of eternity

It’s pretty much underestimated that the rebuilding assignment had come a tad bit early for Xavi. On top of that, complying with the salary cap rule that the team has been struggling for over a year was bound to have an effect. Thus shortlisting those who can help the team, in the long run, could have had its fair share of negative impacts.

That wasn’t to be, though as Ferran Torrest arrived as his first official singing, followed by Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Now, the 32-year-old may not really look like a long-term investment, but the former Arsenal forward has got the job done for the team, scoring four goals in five league appearances.

What’s even more commendable is how Xavi steered the entire Ousmane Dembele fiasco. Not so long ago, the Frenchman was told to find a new team and leave Barcelona or else there could be repercussions. Since that day to date, Xavi has managed to turn Dembele’s critics into enthusiasts.

Simplicity means everything in football, and when the 24-year-old was booed by some section of the supporters, he worked relentlessly to score one assist two in a 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.

There was no reaction or no deliberate gesture. The celebration was bare minimum; a quick run towards Xavi, who patted his back, and everyone moved on.

For someone who was portrayed as one financial burden has come a long way to become one of the most important players, albeit only for the final few months.

Credit where it’s due; Xavi could have easily followed the orders, leaving Dembele out of the current roster. However, the work that has been done is commendable, to say the very least.

We are only five months into Xavi’s Barcelona tenure, but the noticeable balance Xavi has established seems like a work of eternity. To begin with, following the 2-1 win over Elche, Barcelona moved to the third spot for the first time in more than 200 days.

To put things into perspective, take Manchester United, for instance. The post-Alex Ferguson era hasn’t been kind to the English Premier League side, and a series of bad decisions has left the team struggling to get to their usual standards.

At Barcelona, you know the players are enjoying life when they turn for training even when the manager had asked them to take some time off. That was the case following their convincing win over Bilbao in February.

After the game, Xavi advised his men to take rest until Thursday but as many as 11 players, including Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Roberto, Pedri, Ferran Torres, Martin Braithwaite, Memphis Depay, Dani Alves, Marc Andre ter Stegen and Frenkie de Jong arrived on their days off.

This not only goes on to show the cultural change Xavi has inculcated but also portrays the commitment this bunch has towards the man and the club.

And well, the results have been astonishing as well. Since their 1-1 draw against Napoli in the first leg of the Europa League tie, the team has scored four goals in three of their last four matches. In all, the Catalans have netted 14 times in four outings.

The top-end view of Xavi’s return of 12 wins in 22 games may seem average at its very best, but bear in mind that Barcelona haven’t lost a game since losing 1-0 to Betis in early December. He sure has been assisted by Atletico Madrid, who beat Betis 3-1 recently, but one cannot take anything away from Xavi.

It’s not to say that Xavi has brought Barcelona back on track. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the positivity that went missing midway through the season is now working as a productive catalyst, and the only way from here is up.