Former Real Madrid manager questions Xavi’s Barcelona tactics: “Lacking identity”

With recent results not going in their favor, Xavi’s Barcelona are going through a bit of a slump right now.

The puppet master returned to his boyhood club in November 2021 with the enormous task of reintegrating stability assigned to him.

Since then, he has worked his way around the limitations of the club’s finances and won some much-needed silverware, lifting the La Liga trophy most notably last season.

However, in light of the current situation at the club, with two losses in the last three games, questions are once again being raised over Xavi’s approach as the pressure on the hot seat intensifies.

Former Spain calls Xavi into question

Vicente del Bosque, speaking to El Larguero, revealed one of the fundamental problems with Xavi’s Barcelona.

Putting it bluntly, he claimed, “They lack a little bit of their identity.”

“He’s just off the back of winning a league. The big teams always play against teams sitting deep with very few spaces. Barcelona has always had a characteristic identity of opening the game up, and they lack that a bit,” he added.

Being the only football manager to date to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, the European Championship, and the Intercontinental Cup, Del Bosque’s words are worthy of attention.

While Xavi was one of the first names on the team sheet for Del Bosque in the Spanish National Team, the former coach does not remain entirely convinced by his student’s coaching methods.

Xavi’s tactics

Despite lacking the luxuries to acquire players tailor-made for him in the transfer window, it can indeed be argued that Xavi’s set-up deviates from the traditional Blaugrana style of play.

The 43-year-old has often preached a direct play style and emphasized crossing. His tendency to instruct his team to grind out results in narrow, low blocks was also quite a recurring theme last season.

Now that this is his third season at the Catalan club, understandably, demands are beginning to rise.

Results and performances have invariably gone hand in hand at Barcelona, and Xavi will be compelled to make things right in a crucial phase of the season following the international break.