Xavi had warned Barcelona players about strict rotation policy at the start of the season

Barcelona’s recent 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich was a major dent in what has otherwise been an excellent start to the season for the Catalans.

With 13 points on the board, they are trailing Real Madrid by just two points and looking like proper title contenders in these early parts of the campaign. A key reason behind their success has been Xavi, who has been able to implement several strategies and make Barcelona much more flexible.

However, apart from his tactical decision-making, Xavi has also introduced a rotation policy, in an attempt to keep the squad healthy and fit, reports Diario SPORT.

The report suggests Xavi had warned everyone in the team about his rotation policy at the start of the season. He wanted to implement it in order to avoid fatigue within the camp while keeping everyone happy, in regards to their overall game-time.

“You’re all going to join the rotations, there will be breaks for everyone,” Xavi had informed the dressing room before the start of the season.

Almost all of the players were promised to be subjected to Xavi’s rotation policy including indispensable stars such as Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Pedri and Ronald Araujo.

A month into the new season, Xavi has lived up to the promise, having rested all of them at least once over the past four weeks. However, others have criticised his policy, with players such as Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay yet to gain prominence in the team.

Nevertheless, not a single Barcelona player has raised any issue with Xavi’s rotation policy. The coach himself should remain committed to his policy until he finds a dependable eleven and his first-team options gain a certain level of fitness.