Xavi’s longest night

Xavi Hernández left Sánchez Pizjuán with conflicting senses: proud of the image offered by the team but dejected because the possibility of ending the year in the Champions zone escaped him. Such was the unease of the Blaugrana coach that already at the press conference he recognized that it was going to be difficult for him to fall asleep before the accumulation of sensations that he lived in the Sevilla stadium.

And the truth is that the night was especially long. And not only because his cold worsened with the flood that he stoically endured in his technical area – a PCR was done the day before the game that was negative – but because the team was closer than ever this season to be among the four best again. of the league.

Before catching the plane, Xavi congratulated his players, “you have restored pride to the fans and that is priceless”, although he regretted not having been able to finish the job with the three points, “it was a shame because we had it so close …”. Then, on the flight back to Barcelona, ​​a new summit with President Joan Laporta and with the football director Mateu Alemany to continue working on the ups and downs that have to be carried out this January to improve the squad.

The Blaugrana expedition landed at the edge of three in the morning at El Prat airport, later going to the Ciutat Esportiva to collect the vehicles.

When Xavi arrived at his home, almost at four in the morning, he was still turning the game around. So much so, that as AS has learned, the coach decided to watch the entire game from beginning to end. After seeing him again, he confirmed in his sensations that Barcelona was far superior to Sevilla and that the team has improved notably in terms of performance and understanding of positional play.

After watching the game, Xavi decided to end the night, on a schedule more typical of a young man with altered hormones than a football coach. His cell phone read 7:50 a.m.