Xavi actually faces the possibility of being fired after Barca continues to lose shockingly.
Barcelona won't get their 2.8 million euro bonus for their match against Royal Antwerp in the final round of the Champions League group stage, but they have bigger problems to worry about.
The Catalan team's surprising 2-3 defeat did not affect their position in the group or the place they won in the 1/8 round from the previous round, but had a negative impact on their morale. players and especially the position of the head coach.
Barca lost a meaningless match against Antwerp, but it is worth noting that the Barca squad chosen by Xavi was forced to adjust by superiors.
Just 3 days after losing to Girona in La Liga, Xavi marched with his students to Belgium against an opponent who, until last night's match, had lost all points and had not won any points. But Xavi was under pressure right before the match. The club's poor performance caused president Joan Laporta and sports director Deco to interfere in his work by forcing him to bring Robert Lewandowski into this match, replacing him. for letting the Polish striker rest.
The defensive front was so bad that Barca was leading 1-2 when Lewandowski was taken off the field with 20 minutes left in the match. Ironically, the person who replaced Lewandowski, 17-year-old Marc Guiu, equalized 2. -2 from a header. But there was still time for Antwerp to make a miracle with George Ilenikhena's stoppage time goal, Antwerp won 3-2 although this result still did not help them escape the bottom position.
This was actually an innocuous match for Barca, because they were already at the top of the table. However, the pressure on Xavi to put on the field players he wanted to rest created a tense situation between him and Laporta: someone who was not performing well but still maintained the familiar steps to aim for the end result.
As a long-term result, the other person demands a decent result from a meaningless match to maintain political prestige and reduce pressure from public opinion demanding that he fire the head coach.
Xavi will almost certainly leave the club, if not now then it will be after the season
Combined with last season being pushed down to the Europa League, Barca under Xavi had a losing rate in the Champions League of up to 42% of matches, the highest in the club's history. But even La Liga's performance this season is not good for Xavi and the local press is buzzing that Laporta is just waiting for time to replace the famous former midfielder.
When Laporta ran to return to the Barca presidency, he did not consider Xavi as part of his plan. Instead, Xavi backed his opponent, businessman Victor Font. Even when Laporta took office and appointed Xavi, he still had doubts, so he only gave Xavi a 2-year contract. Now the rift between the two sides has begun to become difficult to mend.
According to La Liga rules, clubs can only change their head coach once during the season, so Laporta has to be very careful with his decision. In case Xavi is replaced, former midfielder Rafael Marquez may be called up from the youth team to act temporarily.
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Football