FC Barcelona will travel to Australia for the first time in club history for a showdown with the A-Leagues All Stars on May 25.
The one-off fixture at Accor Stadium comes just three days after the conclusion of Barcelona’s LaLiga campaign; it was a season which began in turmoil before club legend and second all-time appearance maker Xavi Hernandez returned to Camp Nou as head coach – and saviour.
Xavi was tasked with steering his beloved club toward safer waters; he has since restored Barcelona’s true values.
From now until the end of the season, Barcelona will aim to win the Europa League and make a desperate grasp for the crown in LaLiga. Even still, to be back in the top two, after their dire start to the campaign, is a measure of the impact Xavi has made.
Then it’s on to Sydney, and onwards into one of the most crucial off-seasons in the club’s recent history.
What Xavi inherited at Barcelona
The Blaugrana are unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions under Xavi, who took over the club in November as they sat ninth in LaLiga. Barcelona have since progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and sit second in the Spanish league table, 12 points behind leaders Real Madrid with a game in hand, and nine fixtures left to play.
Xavi took the reins from fellow former Barcelona great Ronald Koeman, who was sacked in late October, 2021 after 14 rudderless months at the helm. Koeman and club president Joan Laporta were a poor fit at the club, with the Dutch head coach signed by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu in August of 2020.
A 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano – a side which Barcelona had not lost to in 19 years – was the killer blow for Koeman. He was sacked whilst still on the plane home to Barcelona, with a curt statement released by the club in the minutes proceeding midnight to confirm his departure.
On Monday, November 8, days of speculation came to an end as Xavi returned to Camp Nou, unveiled in front of more than 25,000 fans and signing his contract alongside Laporta in the process.
Xavi’s Barcelona return came after two years at the helm of Qatari side Al Sadd.
Xavi’s Al Sadd managerial honour roll
102 games, 67 wins, 17 draws, 18 losses
- Qatar Stars League title (2020-21)
- Qatar Cup (2020, 2021)
- Sheikh Jassim Cup (2019)
- Amir Cup (2020, 2021)
- Qatari Stars Cup: (2019-20)
Xavi’s Barca tactics
A formation made sacred at Barcelona by Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola, Xavi has utilised his own adaptation of the 4-3-3 through the first five months of his tenure.
Xavi utilises wide wingers, with a stretched front three creating chasms of space between the defence.
This is the space in which the two central midfielders in front of the number six make forward runs to attack through. This in turn leaves space for one of the full-backs to occupy a position in central midfield whilst Barcelona are on the attack, creating overloads in the middle of the park and the final third – a trait Guardiola has perfected at Bayern Munich and Manchester City in recent seasons, most notably with Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker at various stages at the Etihad Stadium.
Two of the most vital positions in Xavi’s system are out wide in the front three, and despite increasing tensions surrounding the contract situation of Ousmane Dembélé, the Frenchman has been one of the best-performing players under Xavi’s tutelage.
Ferran Torres, Barcelona’s January recruit from Manchester City, has also been a shrewd acquisition, working in tandem with Dembélé to great effect.
In 13 league fixtures under Xavi, Dembélé has 10 assists and one goal operating down the right flank. Out of the 11 most-used players in Xavi’s system, Dembélé has played the fewest passes, with his prime objective to take possession and beat defenders one-on-one, showing why he’s one of the best players in the world in that regard.
On the other flank is Torres, who has featured nine times in LaLiga for Xavi since his January arrival. His strength lies in his off-ball movement and positional awareness. Neat, technical interplay is a common occurrence down the left wing for Barcelona, with quick transitions to Dembélé on the opposite flank allowing him to wreak havoc against a defence not yet settled from the switch in play.
Then, there’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The former Arsenal captain joined Torres and Adama Traore in venturing to Barcelona from the Premier League in January, and has seven goals and one assist from his eight league appearances to date.
He’s the player who was never likely to put on a Barcelona shirt, especially under Xavi who in 2020 said: “(Sadio) Mane and Aubemayang can kill you in open space, but Barcelona need players who know how to move in small spaces.” Those past comments now seem a lifetime ago as the Gabon international proves the difference time and again at his new club.
Key midfielder Sergio Busquets admitted to BeIN Sports “it wasn’t easy” early in Xavi’s tenure, “because a lot of players didn’t understand his ideas…” He’s since managed to get his playing group onside, and his approach is paying dividends for the side on the rise.
| LaLiga 2021-22 | Under Xavi | Under Koeman |
| Games | 17 | 10 |
| Goals | 38 | 15 |
| Goals per game | 2.23 | 1.5 |
| Points-per-game | 2.35 | 1.5 |
| Win% | 70.1% | 40% |
| Average possession | 63.8% | 65.8% |
| Chances created per game | 11.5 | 9.4 |
| Shots per game | 14.9 | 12.1 |
Young talent fostered amongst Blaugrana legends
Remnants of Guardiola’s golden generation remain at Barcelona. In fact, five of their key figures still feature prominently at the club: head coach Xavi, centre-back Gerard Pique, full-backs Jordi Alba and Dani Alves (with the latter returning in January at the age of 38), and central midfielder Busquets.
Amongst the recruits from England in January who have all made an impact, re-signing Alves proved a master ploy from Xavi, with the legendary Barca full-back excelling as a key member of the squad in a homage to the past. The likes of Alba, Alves Pique and Busquets are present to help the club succeed in the now, while playing an important role in future-proofing by setting the standards for Barcelona’s new wave of young talent to follow.
Along with the likes of Torres (22), central defender Ronald Araujo (23) and Frenkie De Jong (24) comes the next generation led by central midfielders Pedri (19) and Gavi (17), who are considered two of the best young prospects in world football, with the Spanish duo already prominent members of their national side.
Gavi, a product of Barcelona’s fabled La Masia academy, is the youngest player in history to have represented Spain at senior international level. After featuring in Spain’s 2-1 win in the Nations League over France last year, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports: “I want to see Gavi’s birth certificate… You can’t be that good at 17!”
Pedri – who rose through the ranks at Las Palmas – is primed to play a key role in Spain’s 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign after winning the Golden Boy award as Europe’s best player under 21. He’s the first Barcelona player Since Lionel Messi in 2005 to win the award.
Nico González (20), the central midfielder who has made the equal-second most amount of appearances of any player at the club under Xavi, is primed to “be the replacement for Busquets for many years,” told to Goal by former Barcelona B manager Francisco Xavier Garcia Pimienta.
Central defender and La Masia product Eric Garcia is back at Barcelona and flourishing, after his three years at Manchester City came to an end in June, 2021.
Then there’s Ansu Fati, the Spaniard with Guinea-Bissau heritage who is yet to feature for Xavi due to a thigh injury, but the 19-year-old who claimed Barcelona’s number 10 off the departed Messi will hope to impress his new boss on return this month.
Old nurtures young in this Barcelona squad, with the youth repaying the favour on the field by providing the energy and legs no longer possessed by the experienced campaigners in the squad.
Expect to see a mix of both when Barcelona arrive in Sydney in late May.
