On Saturday, Barcelona announced the return of great midfielder Xavi Hernandez as coach, with the legendary midfielder facing a monumental task in restoring the Spanish giants to their previous glory.
After 767 appearances with the Catalan club, which included winning eight La Liga crowns and four Champions Leagues, the Spaniard Xavi Hernandez moved to Al Sadd in 2015.
“It was fated to happen. You’ve arrived at your destination.” Barca sent out a tweet. “It wasn’t farewell; it was see you soon,” it said, alongside a video montage of the player’s 2015 departure.
It was meant to be.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 6, 2021
Welcome home. pic.twitter.com/gdGdFedk7t
Barcelona said in a statement that it had reached a deal with Xavi to take over as first-team coach for the remainder of this season and two more seasons, succeeding Ronald Koeman, who had been fired. “It is believed that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend, and that his presentation as the next FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in a public event at Camp Nou on Monday, November 8,” the statement added.
Xavi, known as the “Maquina” (the Machine), is widely regarded as one of the club’s greatest ever players, and there is considerable interest in his potential as a coach following his impact on Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona team. His passing style was compared to Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning “tiki-taka” club in 2009.
“One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time,” Barca said in a statement, “he helped reinvent the art with his inventive intellect, precision passing, and incredible ability to read the game.”
Al Sadd, a Qatari team that Xavi had managed since 2019, announced on social media that they had reached an agreement with Barca and shared photographs of the Spaniard bidding goodbye to the players and staff. On Friday, Barcelona’s bid to appoint Xavi as coach was stalled due to his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering sharing the cash to complete the agreement.
Xavi had made no secret of his wish to return to Barcelona, which he had joined at the age of 11 through the La Masia program. Last year, Xavi told the sports newspaper Marca, “My major ambition, when I can accomplish it, is Barca.” “It’s my home, that’s the dream,” says the narrator.
There are strong hopes that Xavi will use his incredible playing career to help Barcelona, who are now in ninth place in La Liga and are facing mounting pressure to finish in the top four. After Barcelona allowed Lionel Messi to join Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, Xavi faced a strong competition.
Barca will have to fight to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League in Europe, and any rebuilding will have to be done on a tight budget as the club tries to pay off debts incurred in part due to Messi’s earnings.
Xavi will also be responsible for upgrading the team’s style of play, which was a major complaint during Koeman’s term as coach.
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