"If we don't win, another coach will come instead of me'
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Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 19.10.22. | 16:39
Barcelona's coach is perfectly aware what it means to be a coach at Camp Nou
Barcelona spent a lot of money this summer after selling TV rights for the future and the right to use the club's logo. For 153 million euros, Raphina, Jules Kounde and Robert Lewandowski arrived, along with Franck Kessie (without compensation) and Marcos Alonso, but the results are not so good. The 3-1 defeat from Real Madrid added salt to the wound called “The Champions League”, but it’s only the start of La Liga, and three points behind the current champions is not such a bad thing. But a debacle in the Champions League is.
Xavi has a worse win rate than Ronald Koeman after 50 games in charge of Barcelona 👀 pic.twitter.com/fsPvGv3umE
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 17, 2022
Barcelona projected financially to advance to the quarter-finals at least, but they will finish the competition in the group stage, after failing to win against Inter at Camp Nou. And even thou nobody expected the Catalonians to win in Europe after all, Barca has one less trophy to win. Ronald Koeman won only Copa Del Rey in 2021 and got sacked the following year.
🎙️🚨| Xavi: “I would understand if they stopped trusting me. People support me on the street. This is football. Defeat cannot stop us, you have to be positive. Honestly, I’m not deceiving you, I’m always positive.” #fcblive pic.twitter.com/KIXQ5xUVp9
— ThatBarca (@thatbarca) October 19, 2022
And being a Barca ‘soldier’ through and through, Xavi has the full knowledge of consequences after you spend 153 million and still don’t have a trophy.
“With the effort made by the club and the squad we have, we have to compete for trophies. And if we don't win, as the president said, there will be consequences, starting with me. If we don't win, another coach will come in. But I am going to give everything so that this works. With all the encouragement messages I'm receiving, my phone looks like a relative has died. The team's situation is what it is. We started like a shot and now we're not so good. This doesn't stop me. We have to go step by step. We are three points behind the LaLiga leader and we have to continue. This is too long and we can't stop. The road from success to defeat is so small” explained Xavi.
He will have a clash with his counterpart, a much more experienced Unai Emeri, and Barca’s coach already announced changes in the squad, but it might not be Busquets, who was criticized a lot after a 3-1 defeat in El Clasico.
“Villarreal is a fantastic team, it has a great coach, it is a physical team, and it is a team that I love. There will be changes for sure and I want my players to be more aggressive, press more after loss, making tactical fouls. Busquets is still important. There will be games in which he plays less or doesn't play but he'll still be vital. Busi and the other captains add up. We have a healthy dressing room and that makes me feel that things will end up working out. There's a good atmosphere and positivism" reassured Xavi.
LA LIGA - ROUND 10
Tuesday
Sevilla - Valencia 1-1 (0-1)
/Lamela 86 - Cavani 6/
Getafe - Ath.Bilbao 2-2 (1-1)
/Alena 27, El Haddadi 76 - I. Williams 2, Garcia 62/
Atl.Madrid - Rayo Vallecano 1-1 (1-0)
/Morata 20 - Falcao 90+2/
Wednesday
20:00: (3.10) Valladolid (3.10) Celta (2.68)
20:00: (3.90) Cadiz (3.05) Betis (2.19)
21:00: (1.61) Sociedad (3.80) Mallorca (6.50)
22:00: (9.00) Elche (5.50) Real Madrid (1.36)
Thursday
20:00: (2.75) Almeria (3.10) Girona (3.00)
21:00: (2.16) Osasuna (3.40) Espanyol (3.90)
22:00: (1.56) Barcelona (4.40) Villareal (6.75)
***odds are subject to change***
