Barcelona President Joan Laporta Rallies Support for Under Fire Manager Xavi After Difficult Spell as Coach

Barcelona President Joan Laporta Rallies Support for Under Fire Manager Xavi After Difficult Spell as Coach

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:14 PM
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  • Barcelona president Joan Laporta has once again given his backing to manager Xavi Hernandez after a difficult week
  • The 42-year-old came under pressure after back-to-back disappointing results against Inter Milan and Real Madrid last week
  • Barcelona are on the verge of being eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage for the second consecutive season

Barcelona manager Xavi has received the backing of club president Joan Laporta to turn the Catalans fortunes around after a turbulent few weeks at Camp Nou.

Xavi faced heavy criticisms from supporters after Barcelona’s disappointing Champions League results against Inter Milan and the El Clasico loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Barcelona, Joan Laporta, Xavi, Camp Nou, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, Catalans
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has called for support for Xavi as believes the 42-year-old manager can turn the club's fortunes around. Photo by Quality Sport Images
Source: Getty Images

Laporta has now revealed that he has complete faith in the 42-year-old manager who he says has the ability to lead Barcelona back to the top after the club’s recent setbacks, Barca Universal reports.

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“Xavi is a wonderful coach, he always sees the positive side. It is appreciated by the board. We have to support him. Let’s not fool ourselves, we have a team that is being built.”

Barcelona returned to winning ways on Thursday after thrashing Villareal 3-0 at Camp Nou with Robert Lewandowski bagging a brace for the Catalan giants.

Xavi to revolutionize Barcelona's squad

Meanwhile, Barcelona's four captains might not be back next season with the team as Xavi wants to revolutionize the Catalan squad by ostracizing the older players, Marca reports.

The four team captains are Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, and Sergi Roberto, who coincidentally are all former teammates of the now manager, Xavi.

Pique, Alba, and Sergi Roberto have seen their game time limited drastically under Xavi this season as the 42-year-old manager gradually phases them out of the squad.

Xavi admits he faces the sack

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has admitted his job will be on the line if he fails to deliver trophies for the Catalan giants.

Xavi has come under intense scrutiny in the past weeks following a run of poor results, with his side on the brink of a group-stage Champions League exit.

After also suffering defeat in last Sunday's El Clasico against Real Madrid, the pressure is mounting on the legendary former Barcelona midfielder to get his squad competing for silverware.

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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..
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