Tag: Xavi

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Torres rescues draw for Xavi’s men

Ferran Torres rescued a 1-1 draw for Barcelona in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, who finished with 10 men.

After a goalless first half at Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday, Ansgar Knauff sent the home fans into raptures with a wonderful finish from 20 yards out. 

Xavi sent Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele on in response and the pair started a lovely move that ended with Torres slotting an equaliser into the bottom-left corner. 

And although Tuta was shown a second yellow card with just over 10 minutes remaining, Barca were unable to complete a dramatic late turnaround to snatch the victory.

Kevin Trapp’s fingertip save kept Torres at bay in the third minute and Djibril Sow failed to hit the target from a great opening at the other end. 

Barca dominated possession but Trapp denied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and they lost Gerard Pique to an apparent groin injury – Clement Lenglet replacing him in the 23rd minute. 

Eintracht were awarded a penalty shortly before half-time but upon reviewing video footage, referee Srdjan Jovanovic deemed Sergio Busquets had won the ball in his challenge on Rafael Borre. 

The hosts took the lead just three minutes after the restart, though, as Knauff curled a great strike into the top-right corner from the edge of the box following a corner. 

Jesper Lindstrom missed a brilliant chance to double Eintracht’s lead 90 seconds later and it proved costly when De Jong – who had only been on the pitch for four minutes – teed up Torres to finish off a slick move. 

Tuta was shown a yellow card for a lunge on Pedri in the 78th minute but Barca were unable to make their numerical advantage count in the closing stages. 

After overcoming Inter en route to the semi-finals in 2018-19, knocking out another of Europe’s most prestigious clubs remains a distinct possibility for Eintracht this season. 

Although they were unable to become the first German team other than Bayern Munich to beat Barca in a European game since Bayer Leverkusen in September 2001 – the Blaugrana are now undefeated in 22 such matches they will still fancy their chances at Camp Nou. 

He may have missed a great chance early in the second half, but Lindstrom was a real thorn in the side of Barca with his electric pace. He supplied four key passes – more than any other player on the pitch – before being replaced in the 73rd minute. 

He has made a strong start to life at Barca but Aubameyang was far from his best in Germany. 

He only had one attempt on goal across the 90 minutes and completed fewer than half of his passes. 

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Xavi refuses to give up on LaLiga title after Barca edge Sevilla

Xavi promised Barcelona will “keep fighting” until it is mathematically impossible to win the LaLiga title after moving into second place on Sunday.

A hard-fought 1-0 win against Sevilla at Camp Nou came thanks to a well-taken Pedri goal, and it saw Barca leapfrog their opponents and Atletico Madrid in the table.

They remain 12 points adrift of leaders Real Madrid, but Barca ended Sevilla’s 15-game unbeaten run in the league, and are now undefeated in 14 LaLiga games themselves.

Speaking after the victory, Xavi was upbeat despite the big gap between his team and Madrid, who Barcelona thrashed 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in their last game away from home.

“I am very positive, I believe in work, effort, sacrifice and collective work,” Xavi told reporters. “We are very good. We are supportive, we all work, we run. With this base, the results should come.

“This is the best moment of the season. We have dominated a great opponent, with the best defence in LaLiga. [Sevilla] are a super team, and [Julen] Lopetegui is a magnificent coach.”

Barca have now kept a clean sheet in three consecutive league games at Camp Nou for the first time since a run of four between February and June in 2020.

Xavi said his team did not think about “sending a message”, but he was pleased with the efforts of the fans and insisted the players will try to chase down Madrid.

“We didn’t send a message to anyone,” he added. “We sent it to ourselves. We won and enjoyed ourselves.

“The atmosphere was extraordinary. And in LaLiga, as long as the numbers don’t say otherwise, we’ll keep fighting.”

The Blaugrana head coach also had words of praise for the match-winner, suggesting that teenager Pedri “has no comparison”.

“He is a super player,” said an enthused Xavi. “He has scored an extraordinary goal. He makes a difference. It is a spectacle to watch him play, and he is only 19 years old.

“It does not surprise me. He has no comparison. I encourage him to shoot, but he is a passer and he has in mind the last pass, the decisive one. But he doesn’t realise that he has to try [to shoot]. Today he scored a great goal.”

Pedri was pleased with that strike and is enjoying playing in an emerging Barca side under Xavi. The teenager has scored two goals in his last seven LaLiga games, as many as in his previous 34 appearance in the competition. This was also his first goal from outside the box for the Catalan giants.

“[The goal was] similar to the one in Turkey [against Galatasaray in the Europa League],” Pedri told reporters after the game.

“We press better [under Xavi], more calm, and we have a lot of firepower with the [January] signings.

“We know that it is difficult [to catch Madrid], but we are Barca, and we have to fight to be first.”

Categories
football Sports News

Xavi: ‘Sensational’ Alves will help Barcelona a lot

Xavi hailed “sensational” Dani Alves and tipped the full-back to have a big impact at Barcelona after making his second debut for the club on Tuesday.

Alves returned to Camp Nou on a free transfer last month following his departure from Sao Paulo in September over a contractual dispute.

The 38-year-old, who played 391 times for Barca in his first spell with the club, cannot be officially registered for the Catalan giants until the January transfer window.

However, the Brazil international was able to pull on the Blaugrana strip in Barca’s exhibition friendly with Boca Juniors and played a full part in Saudi Arabia.

Alves impressed in the first half in particular but could not help his side overcome Argentine giants Boca, who went on to win the penalty shoot-out 4-2 after a 1-1 draw.

Xavi may not be able to call upon Alves competitively for another few weeks, but the recently appointed Barca boss is glad to have the veteran defender in his squad.

“His second debut is very positive for the team,” Xavi said after the Maradona Cup match. “Everyone has seen he will help us a lot. He is a sensational player. 

“He’s a team player and has a lot of character and soul. He will do very well for us.

“He has shown what he can contribute both in defence and attack. He plays with a lot of intensity and his final pass makes a difference.”

Questions were raised regarding the timing of the game, which was held in memory of the late Diego Maradona, who represented both clubs during his legendary playing career.

But Xavi felt it was a good opportunity to give certain fringe players a run-out, with Philippe Coutinho among those to feature from the beginning.

“Those who have played less, like Neto or Riqui Puig, performed at a very good level, as did all the youngsters,” Xavi said.

“The conclusions I take from this game are positive. We lost on penalties but are happy. Losing on penalties is the least important thing – getting minutes is what matters.”

Ferran Jutgla gave a much-changed Barca side the lead at King Saud University Stadium, but Exequiel Zeballos struck 13 minutes from time to take the game to penalties.

Xavi’s side now turn their focus back to LaLiga matters with a home match against Elche on Saturday, before travelling to Sevilla three days later for their final game of a testing year.

Barca have been linked with Erling Haaland as they prepare for 2022 after the Borussia Dortmund striker’s agent reportedly met with club president Joan Laporta.

Given the LaLiga side’s well-publicised financial issues, however, a move for the in-demand Norway international seems highly unlikely next year.

“These are all hypotheses,” Xavi said when asked about the recent transfer speculation. “We will see, because we depend a lot on the salary limit and on financial fair play.

“We are not in our best moment but we will try to strengthen the team and the reinforcement of Dani will also go very well for us. In all markets we would like to strengthen.”

Categories
football Slides Sports News

XAVI IN NEGOTIATIONS FOR SPECTACULAR RETURN TO BARCELONA

Al-Sadd manager Xavi Hernandez said a return to Barcelona would be “spectacular and exciting” as he confirmed on Wednesday that he is in negotiations to become his former club’s new coach.

Barcelona officials Rafa Yuste and Mateu Alemany travelled to Doha on Tuesday to try to negotiate Xavi’s release from the Qatari club and met with the former midfielder’s agents on Wednesday.

Barca are looking to replace Dutchman Ronald Koeman who was sacked last week following a poor start to the campaign.

“The clubs are talking. Can’t say much but I’m a positive person. It’s about common sense. They need to reach an agreement. That’s the issue,” Xavi told reporters after his team’s 3-3 draw with Al-Duhail in the Qatari league on Wednesday.

“I have been talking to Barca for days, it’s all set. The clubs know my position and I hope it gets resolved soon.

“I wish I go back home. Going back to Barcelona would be spectacular and exciting,” Xavi said before adding that he was going out for dinner with Al-Sadd and Barcelona officials.

Earlier on Wednesday, Al-Sadd appeared unwilling to let their manager leave.

“We welcome the visit of the administrative delegation from Barcelona, and we appreciate and respect this,” the Qatari club’s CEO Turki Al-Ali said in a social media statement on Al-Sadd’s official Twitter account.

“The club’s position is clear from the beginning – we are committed to keeping our coach Xavi with us and we cannot have him leave at this sensitive time of the season.”

Spanish media reported that Xavi, who enjoyed an illustrious career with Barcelona from 1998-2015, has a release clause of €10 million.

Barcelona sacked Koeman after a dismal start to the season. The club, who are ninth in LaLiga, are currently under the guidance of caretaker coach Sergi Barjuan.

Categories
Uncategorized

JOSEP BARTOMEU CONFIRMS XAVI WILL BE NEXT BARCA MANAGER

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed that Xavi will become manager of the club “sooner or later”.

Xavi enjoyed a glittering playing career at Camp Nou, making a club-record 767 appearances during his 24-year stay from La Masia to his 2015 exit.

The former Spain international has turned his hand to management since retiring last year, taking charge of Qatari side Al Sadd, where he finished his playing career.

Barcelona approached their former captain after sacking Ernesto Valverde in January, but instead appointed Quique Setien, whose own future has already come under scrutiny with Xavi again linked to the post.

“Xavi will be Barca’s coach, sooner or later. But right now we are not looking for a coach, we are with Quique,” Bartomeu told press men.

“Quique Setien will coach the team in the Champions League and these last two Liga games that are left. We have had a very atypical season, we will play in August and he will be the coach. If we overcome Napoli, we will be in Lisbon.

“Our will is to fulfil contracts and Setien has one. We went to Setien’s house to speak about the future, the plans for next season. He will probably be there and I am very interested to hear what he thinks.

“He has a lot of time for Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati. We have seen Pedri and Francisco Trincao in form, there is hope.”

Barcelona have a history of appointing former players as managers, with Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Johan Cruyff among the most notable.

Categories
football Sports News

Xavi agrees lucrative deal to take over as Barcelona boss

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi has reportedly already agreed to become the Catalan outfit’s new head coach at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 40-year-old was linked with the post earlier this year when Ernesto Valverde was sacked, but Quique Setien ultimately arrived at Camp Nou.

Setien’s long-term future at the club is the subject of much speculation, though, with Barca currently playing catch-up to Real Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.

According to Mundo Deportivo, ‘a firm agreement’ is in place for Xavi to replace Setien this summer, with the legendary midfielder set to receive a £5.4m-a-year deal at Camp Nou.

The Spaniard left Camp Nou for Al Sadd in 2015 and has since become the Qatari side’s head coach.

However, it is understood that Xavi is heading back to Spain for the 2020-21 campaign, and the decision has allegedly been given the seal of approval by Lionel Messi.

Barca are currently second in La Liga, four points off leaders Real Madrid, who will have the chance to open up a seven-point advantage at the summit when they travel to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday afternoon.