The signing of Xavi Hernández to sit on the bench of FC Barcelona to replace Ronald Koeman has been decided. The former Barcelona captain, coach of Al Sadd, has already agreed to take the helm of the Barcelona team, although his departure from Qatar has to be negotiated. Sources consulted by this newspaper They assure that the agreement is a matter of hours, but it is not official and after the lightning-Barça other options were kept alive, such as the ‘Doll’ Gallardo. Sergi Barjuan, coach of B, would be the coach interim while the arrival of the new coach is solved.
Xavi was already close to landing at the Camp Nou last summer, when Laporta He doubted the advisability of continuing to count on Koeman, but the Barcelona president was reluctant to sign because of the Terrassa coach’s bond with Víctor Font, who had based his sports program in the figure, the second player with the most games in the club’s history (767).
Laporta have driven for the past few months the possibility of signing a coach like Klopp or Ten Hag. However, aware that an operation of that size could not be carried out right now, chose to buy time giving Koeman confidence. The results and the absolutely defeatist tendency of the team have ended up changing his mind to Laporta, who in recent weeks has seen Xavi as an option for the bench, among many things because it fits perfectly with the philosophy of the game that he wants. President.
The mechanism
There is, however, various aspects that do that the operation cannot be automatic: Xavi must be freed from his commitment to Al Sadd, an operation that is considered very viable but must be carried out through direct negotiation with the emir, who gave his word to Xavi de not make an exit very difficult if Barça came.
The second aspect to consider It is the arrival of Xavi’s technical team, which can mean a small earthquake. If Koeman’s departure has a cost, Xavi’s arrival, too.
In any case, as explained by RAC 1, until a few hours ago there were other options: the ‘Doll’ Gallardo, from River Plate, was on the table and, as an interim option, Sergi Barjuan is contemplated, every time Jordi Cruyff discarded himself to demist that paper. There are three parties before the next FIFA break, the maximum deadline for Xavi’s arrival: Alavés at the Camp Nou; Dynamo Kiev in Kiev; and against the Celtic in Vigo. Barça B have this friday party in the field of Linares Deportivo. Sergi would direct the training of the first team this Thursday.