It is Xavi’s last stand on Sunday: his last Clásico in charge of Barcelona. And things can go two ways.
If he wins, he will spend his time at the helm in something that at least resembles a title race. The difference will be five points with six games remaining.
If you can’t win, there will be no more important matches. His legacy as Barcelona coach will be defined: more red cards than trophies.
Real Madrid arrives at Sunday’s game with one less day of recovery after 120 minutes of defense against Manchester City. They still have tough away games at Real Sociedad and Villarreal, plus the distraction of the Champions League semi-finals.
But in Barcelona there has been no clarion call, nor blows in the bathtub: they have been closer to hitting each other.
Barcelona coach Xavi prepares for his last Clásico as coach of the Catalan team
Barcelona recovers from the midweek elimination of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain
Barcelona are now preparing for a clash against arch-rivals Real Madrid, who are celebrating victory over Man City on Wednesday.
Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan hung up on defender Ronald Araujo for his early sending off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, saying: “Taking a player down so early just kills the game.” “That the goalkeeper has the chance to save us or even concede a goal,” he stated.
Araujo responded: ‘I would prefer to keep what I think (about Gundogan’s comments) to myself. “I think there is a (dress) code and there are certain values that must be respected.”
The squad is divided between those who believe it is necessary to tell hard truths, whether in public or private, and those who are on Araujo’s side and are beginning to resent the big signings that have arrived in the last two years: Robert Lewandowski , Joao Félix and Joao Cancelo among them.
And managing all this is Xavi, who is already working on his notice. It has long been clear, in Monty Python language, that he is not the Messiah, just a very naughty boy.
Barça fans were waiting for the second coming of Pep Guardiola. Instead, they have a manager whose midweek red card was his third this season. He has been booked 22 times since he took over as Barça coach, more than any other coach in Spain in the same time.
But despite his flaws, the surprising thing about Barcelona’s plight is that things could get worse after him.
It should not be ruled out that in a few years they will fondly remember the Xavi era.
After all, he delivered the title last season. This year he had to face the departure of Camp Nou.
Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan hung up on defender Ronald Araujo for his early sending off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Defeat Madrid and Xavi takes advantage of his time in charge in something that at least resembles a race for the LaLiga title.
How different would things have been on Tuesday if there had been 96,000 people at the top of the field instead of 50,000, a running track’s distance away?
The 44-year-old has done well. Last season, his use of Gavi and Pedri as props in midfield gave Barcelona a different dimension.
This season, their conversion of former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen into a holding midfielder has made them more solid.
Christensen was suspended for that midweek loss to PSG. Gavi has been injured all season. Xavi has not been a lucky coach.
Xavi will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after having expressed his intentions at the beginning of the season
Barça B coach Rafa Márquez, who played for the senior team between 2003 and 2010, is now the favorite to replace Xavi.
He has made mistakes: choosing his brother Oscar as his number two instead of a more experienced assistant appears to have been one of them. But there are many coaches less suitable to lead Barça than the man who played 767 games for the club, and they may find out in the coming seasons.
Barça B coach Rafa Márquez, who played with the senior team between 2003 and 2010, is now the favorite to replace him. Barcelona could not persuade or afford Mikel Arteta, Jurgen Klopp or Luis Enrique.
Márquez is a great friend of football director Deco and will give in to the demands of the team he forms. Deco and Xavi have never been on the same page.
A win against Real Madrid tomorrow and Xavi’s last six games in charge will mean something. He loses and the biggest question is whether or not he will run during the final month of the campaign.
Dembélé is Enrique’s star boy
Ousmane Dembélé usually has the expression of a man who doesn’t know what day it is. Fortunately for him, every day, as far as Luis Enrique is concerned, is Dembélé Day.
‘Ouse’, as the PSG coach calls him, arrived from Barcelona before Enrique arrived last summer and it was not unreasonable to think that the two might not get along. One loves intensity and unwavering commitment, the other loves to rest.
At least that was the image that was transmitted in Barcelona. Occasional tardiness in training led to Dembélé being portrayed as an immature spender who lives on ankle-deep takeaway pizza boxes and sleeps poorly due to his addiction to video games.
Before the first leg against PSG a cartoon appeared in the Catalan press with the text: “They will play with 10 because they have Dembélé.”
Ousmane Dembélé is currently starring for PSG after a difficult previous stage at Barcelona
Dembélé benefits from the affection shown to him by PSG coach Luis Enrique
This sums up the bad opinion that many Barcelona fans have of him. Every single one of his touches was booed in the second game and fake $100 bills were circulated outside the stadium, with Judas marked on them.
They don’t like the fact he cost £130m, got injured often and then left for half that amount. Despite the hostile atmosphere, Dembélé was the player of the match. He didn’t let animosity bother him and here’s the crux of why Enrique loves him.
Barcelona fans have a low opinion of Dembélé after his difficult time at the club
One of the obsessions of the PSG coach is that his players have the memory of a goldfish and are able to deal with setbacks instantly. Dembélé has that. He does not care. He is not fazed. He barely notices the criticism. And in a perverse way, his lack of concentration on everything else means that he is completely focused on the next time he receives the ball.
In that sense, for Enrique (as they would never call him at Barcelona) he is a model player.
The complicated search for Bayern’s head coach
Harry Kane still has no idea who his manager will be next season. Rumors that Bayern Munich were willing to bring back Julian Nagelsmann only accelerated the German Football Federation’s renewal process as head of the national team.
Bayern Munich are yet to identify a replacement for outgoing coach Thomas Tuchel
Their objectives are now as diverse as Ralf Rangnick, Unai Emery and Zinedine Zidane. The only certainty seems to be that there will be a change.
Not even winning the club its seventh European Cup would alleviate the bad feeling between Thomas Tuchel and the Bayern kingmakers.