Catalan giants Barcelona are targeting a sixth successive win in the Spanish La Liga ahead of their away game against Real Mallorca at the weekend. Since the disappointing draw at home to Rayo Vallecano on the opening weekend, manager Xavi Hernandez and his players have won five league games on the bounce.
Premier League champions Manchester City and Spanish La Liga outfit Barcelona are two of the biggest teams in the world. They were involved in a club friendly at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. The game between the two teams saw the apprentice face his master. Xavi Hernandez is the Barcelona manager and he played under Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola around a decade ago while he was in charge of the first team at the Catalan club. Xavi and Guardiola won several major trophies together at the Nou Camp including two Champions League titles.
Spanish football legend Xavi Hernandez was the mastermind as Barcelona thumped Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami 6-0 in a pre-season friendly match though the Barcelona boss is not on the club’s tour of the United States (US) due to visa issues. It must be pointed out that the game is a pre-season for Xavi Hernandez and his Barcelona players, while Inter Miami are in the middle of the 2022 season as far as MLS football is concerned.
A recent report from Mundo Deportivo has offered a detailed report on Gerard Pique’s meeting with Xavi Hernandez a few weeks ago. It was reported that Xavi does not count Pique highly in light of his injury problems. He does not view the veteran as a first-team regular next season, though the player is keen on proving the coach otherwise by remaining at Camp Nou. Among a series of promises made by Pique during the meeting, one of them was how his personal life will not affect his performance on the pitch.
Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez was the mastermind as the Catalan giants secured three league wins in a row after the 3-1 victory over visitors Celta Vigo. The Catalans struggled badly in the league earlier in the season under Dutchman Ronald Koeman before he was replaced by Xavi Hernandez. Since the appointment of the former Spanish international midfielder towards the end of last year, results have improved drastically. Xavi Hernandez has been able to take Barcelona into the top two ahead of the final two weeks of the season after the club was languishing in a disappointing ninth position when he took the job.
Barcelona are back to winning ways following the 1-0 away win over Real Sociedad on Thursday night. Xavi Hernandez and his players have been able to return to winning ways after a run of two straight defeats in all competitions.
A lot of people were not convinced that Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez was the right man for the job when the Joan Laporta-led board turned to him shortly after Dutchman Ronald Koeman was fired as the Barcelona manager. Four months later, it is safe to say that Xavi Hernandez has won a big fraction of the people who doubted him to his side with the way he has been able to transform Barcelona into a real force on the pitch once again.
