After Barça’s painful victory over Almeria, Xavi reflected on the mood in the dressing room, particularly after his harsh words against Lewandowski.
It’s not all fun and games at Barça. Having struggled for several weeks now, Xavi Hernandez’s side are no longer a threat. Despite boasting some of the best players in the game, the Catalan giants have shown an incredible lack of composure and passivity. For opponents, this is a godsend. During the club’s last game in La Liga this year, against Almeria, the faces displayed by certain players left the coach incensed. One of those players was Robert Lewandowski, the Polish coach who is having a complicated few weeks.
“Let’s see you start running for once, for fuck’s sake!”
Last Wednesday, the former Bayern Munich striker spent a salty moment in the dressing room at half-time with his coach. Indeed, according to the Spanish press, in particular AS, Xavi lashed out directly at his player for his lack of intensity in the game. “We’ll see if you start running for once, dammit! he reportedly blurted out to his striker. After the match, the former Al Sadd coach, who knows that his head is on the line every time he plays, did not spare his players for their performance against Almeria.
“The first half was unacceptable,” he said. “The pressure and aggression were unacceptable. Either we run like hell or it doesn’t come to us. We’re not the Barça of 2010″, Xavi blasted. In this tense atmosphere, the Blaugrana club have travelled expressly to the United States to play a lucrative friendly against CF America this Thursday.
“I try to be sincere and honest, I can’t hide”
From the United States, the Barça coach confirmed AS’s revelations and justified them. Especially in the wake of his side’s latest defeat to the Mexican side by a score of 2 goals to 3, Xavi went on the offensive on Catalunya Radio, saying that it was a way of telling the truth to one another as a family.
“I try to be sincere and honest, I can’t hide. Tension is normal, it’s a dressing room. There’s a lot at stake and I told myself it was just a matter of raising my voice a bit, nothing more,” he explained. “From that point on, I think the team reacted very well, very well. In the dressing room, we’re a team, a big family. They are professionals and they understood that very well. In the second half, we took the path we need to stay on and now we need to take a break, a rest, to face 2024 with a lot of desire and enthusiasm.”
Joao Félix as badly criticised by Xavi
It has to be said that serenity has disappeared from the Barça team in recent months. As well as Lewandowski, who is not enjoying a good period and is being singled out by his coach for his involvement in the game, it is Joao Félix who has been singled out in recent hours as the player who is being given a bad rap. According to the Spanish media, were it not for Gavi’s injury, which has upset Xavi’s plans, the player on loan from Atlético Madrid would not have a starting place in the team. The reason for this is the Portuguese player’s lack of humility.
Against Almeria on Wednesday, Félix reportedly criticised Xavi for his choices when he was substituted in the 46th minute. According to reports, the young striker was not in the coach’s plans, and his arrival in the final hours of the mercato was thanks to President Joan Laporta. Given that a certain Victor Roque will be arriving in Catalonia in just 4 days’ time, and that Xavi intends to get his hands on a midfielder this winter to fill the void left by the seriously injured Gavi, it has to be said that Félix and Lewandowski will have their work cut out for them.
Leave a Reply