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The arrival of former player Xavi as the new head coach of FC Barcelona has lifted the mood of the supporters.
The last few years have been rough for fans of Barcelona who had to witness their club’s steep decline. From the highs of the Pep Guardiola era to the lows of horrific Champions League eliminations, Barcelona have lost their prestige and place in European football to a large degree.
As a player, Xavi managed to achieve unprecedented success and had been the backbone of Barcelona for over a decade. One of the greatest European players of all time, Xavi will hope to transmit his credentials into some of the young stars and hope to revive Barcelona’s season.
FC Barcelona re-sign Dani Alves with Xavi's advice
With Xavi’s advice, Barcelona re-signed former right-back Dani Alves as a free agent. Alves was at the heart of the right flank for several years and has an excellent understanding with Xavi. But who are the other former Barcelona players Xavi would have loved to manage in his current side? Let’s take a detailed look below:
#5 Victor Valdes
The career of Marc-Andre ter Stegen at Barcelona has seen a serious downward decline over the last few years. The German was once touted as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he had a couple of extremely decisive campaigns with the club in 2017 and 2018.
Since then, the goalkeeper has become increasingly error-prone and concedes plenty of goals at his near post. He’s also slow to come off his line and lacks personality in big games where goalkeepers often need to stand out.
This is quite evident in the manner in which Barcelona have suffered humiliations in the Champions League games against Roma, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Victor Valdes, the best goalkeeper in the history of the club, would be an instant improvement between the sticks. Not only has Valdes been decisive in big games for the club, he’s quick to come off his line.
The former Barcelona goalie closes spaces down quickly and is also excellent at communicating with the backline and keeping them focused. The Spaniard also has a better record at set-pieces than the current Barcelona number no. Notably, Valdes has moved into coaching since his retirement.
#4 Javier Mascherano
Since the departure of Javier Mascherano, the Barcelona defence has gotten worse. French signings Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet, who were supposed to replace Mascherano on the left side of defense, have had a topsy-turvy career with the club.
Both centre-backs started out remarkably well and managed to impress fans and coaches with their defensive solidity as well as their ability to play out from the back. However, they have regressed massively since then and have been pushed to the fringes of the squad as things stand.
As a result, Barcelona have often had to depend on players from the B team and youth players to partner Gerard Pique in defence.
Mascherano served the team extremely well during his time with the Catalan club. Not only was he an underrated defender who put his body on the line to stop the opposition forwards, he was also excellent at pinging balls from behind and recycling possession.
The Argentine is also a more than capable defensive midfielder and would’ve been able to rotate with Sergio Busquets, whose age is catching up with his legs. If only Mascherano was still around like Alves. The Argentine last turned out for Estudiantes before retiring in 2020.
#3 Carles Puyol
Xavi wanted to bring Dani Alves back to the Barcelona dressing room in order to address the issue of a lack of inspiring personalities and leadership figures in the team. No leader has been more inspiring in the history of Barcelona than Carles Puyol.
Puyol and Xavi were the leadership figures for much of Barcelona and Spain's glorious history in the new millennium. There were also reports that Xavi wanted his former teammate back at the club in an advisory role.
With figures like Puyol, Valdes and Mascherano in the dressing room, the Catalan side wouldn’t have suffered mental collapses that resulted in dramatic Champions League results recently.
Besides, Gerard Pique is no longer the player he once was and head coach Xavi can no longer depend on his former team-mate to be an undisputed starter. Pique’s lapses in defence combined with the lack of a strong supporting partner has contributed to a chronic case where Barcelona have conceded goals by the dozen.
Although Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia look promising, Carles Puyol would be an immediate improvement as the leader of the backline, if he was still around.
#2 Samuel Eto’o
The signings of Luuk de Jong and Martin Braithwaite sum up everything that is wrong with the club in the last few years. Neither of those players have what it takes to play for a club as big as Barcelona and under more competent management, shouldn’t have been signed in the first place.
Sergio Aguero has had his fair share of injury concerns and is no longer the gun striker that he once was at Manchester City while Memphis Depay isn’t exactly a striker. Samuel Eto’o represented the Barcelona colors for five glorious seasons and was a prolific goalscorer. He’s the eight highest scorer in the club’s history with 130 goals to his name.
Eto’o was also brilliant at combining with the other forwards and often set up his team-mates with a key pass or a through ball. The striker from Cameroon was also on the scoresheet in both the 2006 and 2008 Champions League finals and Barcelona could certainly do with a player like him now.
#1 Lionel Messi
In his very first press conference as the official coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi was enquired about Lionel Messi who had to leave so tragically in the summer. When asked about whether he’d loved to manage Messi, Xavi said:
“Messi, [Samuel] Eto’o, Ronaldinho, of course, but they are not here. Messi is a great friend, he texted me good luck. But we cannot think about the players that are not here.”
Although his answer was quite platonic, there is nothing else that Xavi would’ve loved more than to manage one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Understandably, he shared a cordial relationship with the diminutive Argentine. The worst part about Messi’s departure this summer is that Barcelona had to lose him on a free as his contract expired.
Obviously, when it comes to a player as big as Messi, the club would always have suffered after his departure. Barcelona sent left-winger Francisco Trincao on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers and haven’t trusted young player Yusuf Demir on the left flank as a replacement.
Ousmane Dembele is the only suitable tactical replacement but his injury record makes him far from reliable. Thus, the club is not only lacking someone to replace Messi’s goalscoring and creative prowess, but a player in general.
