“A fragile and soulless Barca, playing with ten men, fell with a bang against a vastly superior Madrid, with Vinicius scoring a hat-trick in 39 minutes.”
“Sport” went one step further: “Barça was humiliated. A defeat that requires decisions.”
The splendor of old times has been crumbling in the capital of Catalonia for years. The departure of superstar Lionel Messi, debts running into billions – although FC Barcelona won the Spanish championship last year, the five-time premier class winner has sunk into insignificance internationally for years. Now it’s not just the head coach’s chair that shakes.
Xavi at the center of criticism – team appears anemic
What was frightening about the Blaugrana’s performance in Riyadh, in addition to the fact that they scored two goals from Real’s Vinícius Júnior in the opening minutes, was the team’s reaction to the deficit.
Or rather: the lack of reaction. “We can’t go into a final like this. We played poorly in defense and pressing,” said the coach at the press conference after the game. “You can’t be 2-0 down so quickly in a final. The second half was really bad.”
The problem: From the Catalans’ perspective, the score was 1:3 at halftime. The coach could have reacted and made changes during the break, or he could have woken up and motivated his team. After the break, Barcelona played even weaker than before.
The former world-class midfield director wanted to put Real under pressure with early counter-pressing and high full-backs. A “suicide tactic,” as the French newspaper “L’Équipe” later called it.
Xavi Hernández saw his team perform poorly in the Super Copa final.
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Flick, Klopp and Márquez are already being traded in Barcelona
For Xavi, the air in Barcelona is noticeably thinner. The Catalan portal “El Nacional” reported at the beginning of the week that club officials were already looking for new solutions for the coaching position.
However, the current coach still has the backing of his former teammate and sports director Deco: “This question makes no sense. The coach has all of our trust. A defeat doesn’t change that at all.” However, Xavi himself no longer ruled out resignation on Wednesday.
How firmly Xavi actually sits in the saddle also depends on how FCB ends the season. The Blaugrana are still represented in three competitions. If they win a title at the end, the 43-year-old could secure his position.
Robert Lewandowski can’t be too happy about his medal.
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Lewandowski out of form, Busquets sorely missed
Everything looked so good exactly a year ago. At that time, Barcelona dominated their arch-rivals from Madrid in the Super Copa final, winning 3-1 thanks to a goal and two assists from Robert Lewandowski. Defender Ronald Araújo even made exuberant statements: “A new era has begun.”
But this season, his second with the Catalans, the ex-FC Bayern striker isn’t really getting going. While former BVB star Jude Bellingham is now destroying La Liga for Real Madrid and has already scored 13 goals, Lewandowski only has eight goals.
So far he has only been able to net once in the premier class – the worst rate since the 2011/12 season, when he was still wearing the Borussia Dortmund jersey.
This season, Barça’s number nine is mostly up in the air. This is also due to the fact that the structure in the central midfield is currently not right. Last summer, one of the pillars, Sergio Busquets, left the team for the USA.
They were able to win over the captain of the German national team, Ilkay Gündogan, from Manchester City as a replacement. However, he lacks the strength and dynamism to win the ball and he has not been able to take control of the Barça game so far. Frenkie de Jong, who has been with the club for over four years, has not yet lived up to his great praise. Overall, the team simply doesn’t have the quality of past golden times.
Frustration among the Barcelona players.
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Financial chaos prevents “reset”
Xavi had called for a “reset” after the Clásico defeat, but simply “switching it on” and “off” like a technical device is difficult for a football team. Especially since new staff are not actually possible in the financially precarious situation.
The club is billions in debt. In order to secure new signings like Lewandowski in the recent past, shares in club assets either had to be sold or the focus was placed on free transfer stars like Gündogan.
The coach, who commented on possible signings after the defeat against Real, also knows this: “At the moment we can’t, the club can’t sign any players. The situation is what it is.”
And this situation also means not being able to play at the top in terms of sport at the moment. So they are still waiting for the proclaimed “new era” at FC Barcelona.
You might also be interested in:
Rüdiger admits: “I’m a little crazy”
2024-01-17 22:28:45
#Liga #Barcelona #close #previous #golden #times #years #coach #Xavi #wobbling #Eurosport
