Xavi passes the ball to Laporta: this is how farewell to the Barcelona coach was planned | Football | Kinds of sports

Javi Hernandez finally smiled. After several months spent in a labyrinth of doubts, without solving the problems of the main team and without support in the office, the coach set a deadline for his stay in the main team. A strategy to free himself from the internal and external pressures of Barcelona and the Barcelona fans that weighed him down. He needed to talk it out. About a month ago, the coach had already made a decision: “No matter what happens, at the end of the season we…

Javi Hernandez finally smiled. After several months spent in a labyrinth of doubts, without solving the problems of the main team and without support in the office, the coach set a deadline for his stay in the main team. A strategy to free himself from the internal and external pressures of Barcelona and the Barcelona fans that weighed him down. He needed to talk it out. About a month ago, the coach had already made a decision: “No matter what happens, we will leave Barça at the end of the season,” he told those around him. After the Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid, his agent Fernando Solanas stopped by the Ciudad Deportiva and headed to Xavi’s house to determine strategy. “There was a conversation about when we would announce the decision to leave the club,” explains one of those present at the meeting. The appointed day was not last Saturday; However, the defeat to Villarreal served as an accelerator. Bad night for Barça. At least Javi was able to rest.

When the match against Villarreal ended, Barça management noticed strange movements in the team. staff. They were right: Xavi decided it was time to announce that he would be leaving the club on June 30th. Anyway, I wanted to tell Joan LaPorta about this earlier. Therefore, when he served TV channels with rights, no one noticed this. “They ask questions about football,” people around the coach make excuses. On the other hand, he had to bite his tongue when he spoke to TV3. Finished flash interviewXavi called Alejandro Echeverria, Laporta’s confidant. “Are you with the president?” – he asked; – Come down, I have something to tell you. Then the inevitable: “He’s going to resign,” thought the president and his inner circle, still in the Montjuïc box. On the way to a meeting with Xavi, one of the members of the sports commission wrote to the coach: “Decisions are not made in the heat of the moment.”

It was late.

Javi was waiting in the office with his brother. There, in the presence of Laporta, Echeverria, Deco (football director) and Rafa Yuste (vice president for sports), the coach argued his departure. His speech is very thoughtful. Laporta, who during the match did nothing but chew his anger in the penalty area – “He was very heated,” the coach says – tried to dissuade the coach. “He pushed him to stay,” say those close to the Barça coach. There was no way to convince him. “Javi has not deviated from his script,” concludes one of those present. Before heading to the press room, Xavi told Laporta that he had forgiven the final year of his contract. “It was another example of his fandom at Barcelona.” We must not forget that he paid for the termination clause of Qatar out of his own pocket,” they recall from staff Catalan coach.

The locker room learned about the news from the press. Some are in their homes, others are still in the car, and all the same when they were faced with Xavi’s statement: “We already imagined this,” one of the captains told the newspaper. Xavi met with his players on Sunday morning. Then something unexpected happened. Typically divided into two groups, those who supported the coach (including Araujo, Gavi, Pedri and Ferran Torres) and those who looked askance at his decisions (De Jong, Lewandowski, Gundogan and Christensen) closed with the coach. The main voice in the conversation was Sergi Roberto. “We also bear responsibility,” the captain said honestly. “Sergi’s performance was excellent. Very honest and constructive,” explains one of the players. Even Lewandowski, one of the most critical, was attached to Xavi. “One of the veterans told the coach what the players could do to get him to stay,” explains a member of the coaching staff.

And again it was too late.

The coach understands that the decision is correct. “Many times I can’t find an explanation,” he mused. “If the team didn’t perform before, why will it perform now?” – one of the Barcelona players asked himself on Saturday evening. Javi’s response: “With this statement, I relax everything.” At the core of Laporta they coincide with the Barça player. This announcement takes the pressure off Xavi, but not the team, much less Laporta. “There is no fair sign another coach. It’s true that Luis Enrique announced he would leave Barca before his contract expired (he did so in March and left in June), but the context is not the same. There was a consensus, it was a powerful dressing room and they had just won a lot of important titles,” recalls the club boss.

Lack of recognition is precisely one of the reasons for breaking up with Javi. “Everyone praises us, but here they kill us. They don’t value us. Last year was a miracle, but now they put more pressure on us,” explains the coaching staff. “We had just won a great league and a Super Cup and, thanks to an improved squad, we had high expectations that were not met,” Laporta justifies himself. A situation arises that confuses the president and those around him: “How can a boy who has spent his whole life in the club be surprised by the pressure that exists here?” “Being a Barcelona coach is cruel,” complained Xavi.

And Jordi Cruyff had already warned him before leaving last summer: “Be careful, you will be alone.” And he was right. Without support from the board of directors and sports management, Xavi also lost the team’s compass. Then he realized that catharsis involves saying goodbye in advance. Laporta had no choice but to accept it: “He asked me to continue playing until the end of the season and I agreed because he is Xavi.” There is pressure in offices now. And Javi finally smiles.

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