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#3 Xavi must revive the careers of Barcelona's star signings
Three managers have failed at it so far, and the onus is now on Xavi to revive the stagnated careers of Barcelona’s once-blockbuster signings – Phillippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele. The Catalan club spent lavishly on bringing these two players to the Camp Nou and it has been nothing but a massive let down since then.
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While Dembele has been consistently plagued by injury issues, Coutinho has become a shadow of the player who once dominated the Premier League with Liverpool.
Dembele’s importance was one of the points Xavi had touched upon in his first official press conference as Barcelona coach. Improving the fitness of the French winger will be key and work has already begun in that direction.
Meanwhile, Coutinho’s case is rather odd, where the club is caught between a rock and a hard place. No club is willing to pay for his exorbitant services but at the same time, the Brazilian adds virtually nothing to the team. If Xavi can get Coutinho going at Barcelona, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
#2 Imposing order and meritocracy at the club
It has become quite clear over the last few years that the traits of order and discipline have almost disappeared from the Barcelona dressing room. The current senior leadership group isn’t the most influential, and several of those players – Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto and Marc-Andre ter Stegen – have been Xavi’s teammates.
Many of them haven’t been performing at a top level consistently and at some point in the near future, Xavi will need to have tough conversations with them. In one of his first moves as Barcelona coach, the former player re-installed a system of fines to improve the punctuality of the squad. He has also stressed the need to foster harmony and team spirit.
Xavi must also rein in on his former team-mates, imposing additional authority when it comes to selections and lineups. Playing time must be given out purely on the basis of merit and performance rather than stature and reputation.
#1 Plugging the holes in defence
If Barcelona want to get back on track in the league this season, Xavi will have to find a way to plug holes in their leaky defense. The Catalan side has conceded 15 goals in 12 games this season already and the absence of Ronald Araujo has only made matters worse.
Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti have severely regressed as footballers and Barcelona will be looking for an exodus for them soon. Eric Garcia has taken time to settle in but he continues to hold promise. Oscar Mingueza has had his moments but cannot be trusted in big games consistently. At his worst, Gerard Pique has looked like a second-division player, at his best he has been erratic.
While ideally the club should look for cheap defensive solutions in the winter market, Xavi must get the best out of his players over the next month and a half. One of the ideas he wants to instill at the club is defending with the ball – something that his idols Pep Guardiola, Frank Rijkaard and Johan Cruyff also believe in.
However, it remains to be seen if Xavi can emulate the same level of success at Barcelona.
