Barcelona Eyeing 52 Year Old Spanish Manager as a Potential Replacement for Xavi Hernandez

Barcelona Eyeing 52 Year Old Spanish Manager as a Potential Replacement for Xavi Hernandez

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:15 PM
In this article:
FIFA World Cup logo
FIFA World Cup
International
Spanish La Liga logo
SPA La Liga
Spain
  • Barcelona has identified Spain’s national team manager Luis Enrique as the perfect manager to replace underfire manager Xavi Hernandez
  • Xavi has failed to guide Barcelona to the knockout stages of the Champions League since taking over reigns at Camp Nou from Dutch manager Ronald Koeman
  • Barcelona’s failure to step up in the biggest games is proving to be the undoing for Xavi at Camp Nou and the 42-year-old seems to be walking on thin ice

Xavi’s time as Barcelona seems to be drawing to an end following the Catalans’ disappointing end to their Champions League campaign this season.

The 42-year-old has failed to guide Barcelona to the knockout stages of Europe’s most prestigious cup competition for the second successive season since taking charge at Camp Nou in 2021.

Barcelona, Luis Enrique, Xavi Hernandez, Camp Nou, Spain, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich
Luis Enrique led Barcelona to the Champions League title in 2015. Photo by Carlos Rodrigues
Source: Getty Images

According to The Hard Tackle, Barcelona has now identified former manager Luis Enrique as the potential replacement option for Xavi if they sack the current coach.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

The 52-year-old coach could be available to manage the Catalans after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where he is set to lead Spain to the Mundial.

Luis Enrique had a fantastic coaching career at Barcelona, leading the Catalans to nine trophies including a triple in 2014–15 in his first stint with the Spanish giants.

Xavi criticizes Barcelona stars’ performance

Meanwhile, Xavi did not mince words after Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after suffering an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at Camp Nou.

The 42-year-old manager labelled the loss to the Bavarians as a step backward as he criticized his players for the lackluster display against Bayern Munich, Barca Universal reports.

Barca dropped to the Europa League for the second consecutive season after winning just one of their five Champions League group stage matches.

Xavi vows to fight for remaining trophies

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has vowed his side will fight for the available titles following his side's elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

Xavi's Barcelona suffered back-to-back elimination from Europe's premier club competition on the back of Inter Milan's triumph against Viktoria Plzen.

The Catalan giants knew of their status before playing their penultimate group game against Bayern Munich, which ended in a humiliating three-nil loss at Camp Nou.

Authors
Chukwu Ikechukwu photo
Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
Tags
WorldXavi