Barcelona legend Xavi Hernández has been unveiled as the club's new manager in front of 25,000 fans at Camp Nou. It was an occasion usually only reserved for signing top players.
As far as results are concerned, it was far from a merry homecoming weekend. The former La Masia product was first announced on Saturday morning hours before Barcelona's La Liga clash with Celta Vigo.
Barcelona were 3-0 up at half-time in a game that looked to provide some optimism for their new manager. Many wouldn't have expected they would go on to give up a three goal lead.
Former Liverpool man Iago Aaspas was the bearer of bad news on the night. The Spaniard scored in injury time to end the game 3-3.
Barcelona now sit in ninth in La Liga with many of the belief that they are already out of the title race. Xavi has an exemplary job on his hands.
“I’ll give everything to make it work”. Xavi Hernández is back. 🔵🔴 #FCB @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/RGFA2biQ1L
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 8, 2021
New Signings On The Horizon
With a diminishing league position and mixed Champions League campaign so far, Barcelona find themselves with much room for improvement.
Financials aside, club president Joan Laporta will be desperate to find a way to improve the squad. Injury setbacks have left them thin on choices.
Sergio Aguero is out with a heart condition and youngsters Pedri and Ansu Fati are both out for several weeks. The likes of Gerard Piqué, Sergiño Dest and Ousmane Dembélé are all sidelined.
Who will Xavi's first signing be? According to reports, it could be a bit out of left field. Barcelona have been linked with a move for someone at his old club Al Sadd.
Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah is supposedly being lined up for a reunion of sorts, having been a sharpshooter over six seasons in Qatar.
The striker has scored 117 goals in 104 appearance, albeit against weak opposition. Nonetheless, it's rumoured that Xavi is keen to bring him to Camp Nou.
The Algerian national team coach, Djamel Belmadi, spoke to a local media outlet about the move. "Baghdad in Barcelona, what do you want me to tell you? Xavi knows better than I."
"It can be a surprise for others and not for him since he knows him. He knows how to compare with the squad there is at the moment in Barcelona. God only knows, that would be an extraordinary thing."
“He made history, he scored goals everywhere…He scored the goal of the Afcon final, one of the most important goals in the history of Algerian football."
"We do not recognise his quality precisely because he plays in Qatar, whereas, in Qatar, there are players who cannot do it."
The Xavi Rules: pic.twitter.com/rJYtqD6u4m
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 8, 2021
Xavi's First Days In Charge
Xavi will take charge of training for the first time on Tuesday. He's coming in at the right time to have a relatively calm start to his managerial tenure.
Many Barca players will be leaving Camp Nou to go out on international duty over the coming days. It gives Xavi an opportunity to find his footing at a ground he spent the majority of his career at.
A home La Liga clash with Espanyol, who are eleventh in the table, will be his first outing as manager on November 20th. Three days later, he'll have his first European outing.
Barcelona will be desperate to get a result against Benfica the following Tuesday in the Champions League. The Portuguese side are two points adrift of them in Group E.
A win for Barcelona would see them go through to the knockout stages of the tournament and likely as runner-up to group leaders Bayern Munich.
Xavi will have his work cutout to steer Barcelona further into the rounds in Europe.
See Also: Xavi Announced And A 3-0 Lead Thrown Away On Another Normal Day For Barcelona
