When Barcelona were embarrassed by a 3-3 draw at home to second-place Granada last weekend, club president Joan Laporta responded to the canapes and angrily turned over a tray of spring rolls in a hospitality box.
The next time it happens it will be Xavi and not the buffet it gets – one more humiliation and he’s gone.
The good news for Barca’s beleaguered coach is that Wednesday’s Champions League match is against Napoli and they are in almost as bad shape as Barcelona.
Xavi was said to have been sacked after losing 5-3 at home to Villarreal last month, but he asked to stay until the end of the season and Laporta agreed. “We let him in because of who he is,” he said in a recent interview.
Barcelona have the worst defensive record of any team in the top five European leagues in 2024, with 23 goals in eleven games since the start of the year.
The writing could be on the wall for Xavi at Barcelona before his departure date in the summer
Barcelona president Joan Laporta in his hospitality box before placing it on the sofas
It was another abysmal performance from Barcelona, who could only draw with lowly Granada
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Xavi has moved former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen into midfield to try and plug the gaps, but last weekend’s 3-3 draw suggests this is not working.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri also has no defense. His team have conceded 27 goals in 23 games – which is just one fewer than in all of last season – and they are 25 points behind leaders Inter.
Barcelona’s problems are worse because they extend beyond the pitch. Contenders who have spoken out about taking over Xavi – Hansi Flick remains a contender after signing for Robert Lewandowski’s agent Pini Zahavi – are being told that some of the best players will have to be sold this summer.
There have been several attempts to push Frenkie de Jong out in recent years and after winning just one league and one cup in four seasons, he is warming to the idea of moving on.
Ronald Araujo is another marketable asset being pushed toward the exit door. The club can only afford to keep the pair if they sign contract extensions, including pay cuts – and neither is keen on that.
These players have no reason to make sacrifices just to help Barcelona. The same goes for kit manufacturer Nike, which recently laughably criticized President Laporta for not increasing payments on a deal signed in 2016 that runs until 2028.
“When we told them that other brands would pay us more, they made an effort that we appreciate, but it was not enough,” Laporta said.
A drop in expected revenues due to a temporary relocation of the stadium, a still excessively high wage bill, a potential £19.5 million tax bill for disguising payments to players as payments to agents (subject to an appeal to the Supreme Court), plus the failure of a plan to sell parts of the club because investors have reneged on payments, all creating desperate short-termism that increases pressure on the coach and the players.
Frenkie de Jong could finally hit the road this summer after resisting attempts to sell him
Ronald Araujo is another good value player who could be on the transfer list this summer
The financial consequences if Barcelona does not qualify for the Champions League next season are unthinkable.
That is why Xavi will go for it if Saturday’s visit to Rafa Benitez’s Celta Vigo and Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 first leg against Napoli do not go to plan.
“Xavi, we need a solution now,” Laporta reportedly told his coach after last week’s restaurant scene.
No amount of canapé trays at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium will save him next week when another almighty humiliation takes place.
EVERGREEN DRUCK REMAINS A FRESH AIR
Everything currently indicates that Toni Kroos will not retire when his current contract expires at the end of this season. And that he returned to the German national team for the Euros.
“I’m considering it,” Kroos, 34, said this week – adding that he was surprised at how mentally fresh he still feels.
That might owe something to the fact that he never took himself too seriously.
Spanish journalist Manolo Lama recalled this week how, while waiting for his contract with Real Madrid to be confirmed in 2014, Kroos holed up in a villa in Mallorca, besieged by TV crews.
Kroos agreed to let the media in for 15 minutes to film, on the condition that they then leave and leave him alone for the remainder of his stay.
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has never taken himself too seriously, which is refreshing
Before Real’s win against RB Leipzig this week, he was filmed crossing paths with Carlo Ancelotti after his press conference.
The manager asked, “Did you say anything (remarkable)?” “Yes,” Kroos joked, “I said I would extend until 2028.”
After the match he was asked about a goal that Leipzig had doubtfully disallowed for offside. “It should have stayed, you can’t really argue with it,” he said.
Kroos is proof that the world doesn’t stop when a player steps out of his bubble, behaves unpretentiously and occasionally even admits that his team got lucky with a decision.
JUST NO FUN FROM SOME COACHES
Let’s call it the ‘successful coach syndrome’. It doesn’t affect all managers – Carlo Ancelotti seems immune – but at Bayern Munich Thomas Tuchel has a bad example of it.
The most common symptom is chronic dissatisfaction with the available playing resources – with public calls for new signings to the point where players already at the club feel devalued.
From day one in Munich, Tuchel has complained about Bayern’s lack of quality in midfield and the center of defence.
Nothing seems to please Thomas Tuchel as Bayern Munich’s season continues to develop
That will not have gone down well with established stars such as Matthijs de Ligt, Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich. The more Tuchel speaks about the need for their replacements, and the fewer minutes he gives them, the worse they perform if selected.
This condition is rare in coaches early in their careers, but often arises after success has given rise to the attitude: “I’ve won things elsewhere, it’s not happening here because you don’t give me the tools to work with.” . ‘
It is one of the dangers of choosing a serial winner like Tuchel. And one of the reasons why struggling Bayern is pulling out all the stops to beat Liverpool against Xabi Alonso.