Xavi Hernandez candidly attributes his final season’s struggles at FC Barcelona to a decline in the high standards he initially set, acknowledging a lack of consistent player attitude and effort as a critical mistake that led to an trophyless campaign.
Former FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez attributed his team’s poor performance and trophy-less final season to his failure to maintain the “high demands” and standards he initially set for the players and the club.
According to a report from Sempre Barca, former FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez provided a candid analysis of his departure and the reasons behind his unsuccessful final season, speaking at a leadership conference at ESIC University, via Mundo Deportivo.
Xavi initially enjoyed success after succeeding Ronald Koeman, guiding the team to a second-place finish in his first half-season.
The subsequent campaign saw the Catalan club return to winning ways, lifting the La Liga title and the Supercopa with the help of activated financial levers that brought in players like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Franck Kessie.
However, the following season was defined by poor performance, drama, and eventual managerial change, as Xavi initially announced his departure before being convinced to stay, only for the board to later decide on letting him go in favor of Hansi Flick.
Xavi believes the root of the issue was his failure to maintain intensity. He stated: “I started my coaching career at Barça with high demands for the players and the club.
The club had come from a period where there weren’t many demands, but my mistake was maintaining those high standards for only one year, from when I arrived until we won LaLiga, the Supercopa…”
He continued, highlighting his self-criticism: “Later on, I was able to be self-critical and I said to myself: ‘Damn, what happened to me?’ I had lowered those high standards, and the players no longer had the same attitude, the same respect, the same effort.
The standards kept dropping until, in my last season, we didn’t win anything. I learned a lot from this. I had to be self-critical.”
Flick, Xavi’s replacement, has made discipline, especially regarding punctuality, a strict priority, suggesting an immediate focus on the very standards Xavi admitted he dropped.