The former Barça coach was self-critical of his time as manager of the club with which he won two official titles in two and a half years.
Even with legend status from his time as a player and that he won two titles in two and a half years, Xavi Hernandez was dismissed from Barcelona in 2024.
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Xavi had to leave Barcelona after the 2023/2024 season – a controversial decision that has been overshadowed by Hansi Flick’s impressive work on the Barça bench.
As a player, Xavi was an iconic figure and the game architect behind the greatest Barcelona team of all time (2008-2015). As a coach, he managed to secure one LaLiga title and one Spanish Super Cup during his two and a half years at the helm. But his inability to deal with inappropriate behaviour from his former teammates would end up costing him his job.
Xavi has no problem publicly admitting that his failure to maintain internal discipline was crucial to the dismissal. “I started my coaching career at Barcelona with high demands – both for the players and the club, which came from a period with a low demand culture. My mistake was that I was only able to maintain these standards for one year,” he admitted to Marca.
The now 45-year-old coach bluntly clarified what he believes caused the slump in Barcelona’s performance after they had celebrated two titles in the 2022/2023 season.
“I lowered my expectations and the players lost their attitude, respect and work ethic. The level dropped lower and lower until we didn’t win anything in my last season. Over time, I’ve learned to be self-critical, and I thought, ‘Damn! What really happened to me?” continued the two-time French bronze medalist.
The former Catalan midfielder also recalled the difficult financial situation he had to deal with, which limited the club in each transfer window. On the positive side, he highlighted the opportunity to bet on young talents from the academy, where he gave confidence to players like Gavi and Alejandro Balde, while also giving debuts to Lamine Yamal, Fermín López, Pau Cubarsí and Marc Casadó.
“I feel great pride in what Lamine and the other guys are accomplishing now, and for having given them the chance to make their debut. I saw that they were very well prepared despite their young age.”
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