Coach stays longer
Xavi’s about-face makes FC Barcelona dream
April 25, 2024, 9:35 a.m
This season, FC Barcelona will remain without a title. The tenuous situation prompted coach Xavi Hernández to announce his retirement in January. But that is now a thing of the past. With his stay, the Catalans’ ambitions immediately rise again.
FC Barcelona is hoping for success again in the coming season thanks to the announced stay of coach Xavi Hernández after a season without a title. “We are convinced that we can achieve great things,” said vice president Rafa Yuste after the coach met with the club’s management. As a result, Xavi moved away from his early departure at the end of this season, which he announced three months ago. The 44-year-old former professional, who celebrated great success as a player with the Catalans, now wants to fulfill his contract, which runs until 2025. He took over the coaching position in 2021.
At the end of January, Xavi declared that he wanted to create space for a necessary change of course with his withdrawal on June 30th. He also wants to have more time for his family. Since then, the club, like several other European heavyweights – including Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC – has been looking for a coach, and former national coach Hansi Flick was also considered Xavi’s successor.
After Xavi’s meeting with club president Joan Laporta, sports director Deco and Yuste, the vice president emphasized: “Xavi wants to finish this project and we have to support him.” The dressing room will suit this very well, said Yuste, with a view to the team, which includes the German national players İlkay Gündoğan and Marc-André ter Stegen as well as the former Bundesliga goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.
FC Barcelona, which was in massive financial difficulties, lost 3-2 to arch-rivals Real Madrid last weekend and thus lost its last chance in the title race. In the Champions League there was previously an exit in the quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain. According to vice-president Yuste, the club has high hopes for its planned return to the Camp Nou stadium in November, which is currently being renovated.