The chances for Xavi Hernández to salvage Barcelona’s season — and likely his own job — are quickly fading.
Barcelona has seen its best two chances of getting a title in this campaign evaporate. Xavi’s side exited the Copa del Rey quarterfinals after losing in added time at Athletic Bilbao 4-2 on Wednesday, a loss that came two weeks after Barcelona was dismantled by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.
It just has the Spanish league and the Champions League to play for, and both look like long shots.
Barcelona is in third place in La Liga, eight points adrift of leader Girona and seven behind Madrid. While Xavi did lead Barcelona back into the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in three years, it is clearly one — or two — notches below the likes of Manchester City, Madrid and other heavyweights.
The 44-year-old Xavi, whose only other coaching experience was in Qatar, has recognized that a season without silverware will likely be too much for even a club great and fan favorite like him to survive despite a contract through to the end of next season.
“All the coaches of big clubs depend on winning titles,” Xavi said after the loss in Bilbao. “It is a fact, if we are not playing at a competitive level the normal thing would be for me to go. This is a major club. I am at Barça. Today we fought and worked hard, (but) if you don’t win, the coach takes the blame.”
Xavi returned to coaching his boyhood club in November 2021 and successfully led an overhaul of the team — financed by the club mortgaging its future — to win La Liga last season, its first major title since the exit of Lionel Messi.
But Barcelona has been erratic this season, when it was supposed to get younger and fitter, after the departures of veterans Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to play with Messi in Miami. Barcelona also lost key midfielder Gavi Páez and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to injuries, but high-profile reinforcements Ilkay Gundogan and João Félix have yet to make up for their loss.
Fortunately for Xavi, his team returns home to host Villarreal in the league on Saturday. Villarreal is winless in its last four games overall and in 14th place.
“We must win on Saturday,” Xavi said. “This team will turn it around by winning games. We must focus on the Spanish league and the Champions League.”
Madrid is also in action on Saturday when it makes a trip to the Canary Islands to face a tricky Las Palmas.
Normally, this would look like a relatively easy outing for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. But Las Palmas is exceeding expectations for a modest club that won promotion last season. Las Palmas is in eighth place thanks to the second-stingiest defense which has allowed only 17 goals. Madrid has the best defense with only 13 goals allowed.
Surprising front-runner Girona, which has played one more game than Madrid and Barcelona, will visit Rafa Benítez’s Celta Vigo on Sunday. Both teams were eliminated from the Copa del Rey this week.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
News Related
-
, Nov. 28 — One of the most anticipated Android releases for 2023 has been the Google Pixel 8 lineup. The Pixel series is often considered the best of what Android has to offer since it brings the true stock Android experience. The Pixel 8 Pro was globally released on ...
See Details:
Google Pixel 8 Pro Review: Is this the best Android phone of 2023?
-
A blank space or an (NR) indicates no readings received. An (e) indicates that the water level has been estimated. An (w) indicates that the conditions were very windy, resulting in an inaccurate reading. Omatjenne Dam does not have abstraction facilities. The dam contents are according to the latest dam ...
See Details:
Namwater Dam Bulletin on Monday 27 November 2023
-
Dhaka, Nov. 27 — Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has been appointed chair of the international advisory board of Moscow’s Financial University (under the government of the Russian Federation). On November 23, he joined a high-level strategic meeting with Prof Stanislav Prokofiev, Rector of the Financial University, and his colleagues. ...
See Details:
Dr Yunus appointed chair of Moscow Financial University's international advisory board
-
In a pivotal encounter at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup Africa Final Monday, the Cricket Cranes faced Nigeria, knowing that a win could significantly boost their chances of securing one of the coveted tickets to the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA.Nigeria won ...
See Details:
Victory over Nigeria puts Uganda on the brink
-
Capture 1 The Bank Ghana (BoG) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has maintained the key policy rate at 30 percent, while introducing additional liquidity management measures to address excess liquidity and reinforce the disinflation process. Announcing the committee’s decision on Monday following its 115th meeting, BoG Governor Dr. Ernest Addison said ...
See Details:
BoG holds policy rate at 30%, tightens liquidity measures
-
Renita Holmes has been displaced four times in the past three years by rising rents With sea levels rising around the globe, Miami, in the US state of Florida, is facing an urgent need to adapt. As property investors turn their gaze inland, away from the exclusive low-lying beach area, ...
See Details:
When sea levels rise, so does your rent
-
Picture2 In a groundbreaking moment, Mrs. Adelaide Siaw Agyepong, CEO-American International School, has achieved yet another milestone by being crowned ‘Icon of Inspiration and Impact for the Year 2023’. The crowning achievement took place in Accra, where Mrs. Siaw Agyepong surpassed contemporaries to clinch this prestigious title at the 5th ...
See Details:
American International School CEO honoured as ‘Icon of Inspiration and Impact’
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Sierra Leone prison breaks co-ordinated - minister
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Address the rise of single parenthood
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Hyundai Chief Picked as Auto Industry Leader of the Year
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Unmarried People Under 35 Outnumber Married Ones
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
European interior ministers in Hungary to discuss migration
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Japan on the watch for unlicensed taxis around Narita airport amid foreign tourism spike
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
ECOWAS to send high-powered delegation on solidarity visit to Sierra Leone
OTHER NEWS
Despite doing education at the university, Mellon Kenyangi, also known as Mama Bear, did not think of going to class, and teaching students was her dream job.“Since it was not ...
Read more »
213 Sri Lanka Cricket’s Chairman of Selectors, Pramodya Wickramasinghe reported to the Sports Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit( SMSIU) for the Prevention of Sports Offences yesterday for the second day. He ...
Read more »
137 Malindu Dairy (Pvt) Ltd., a leading food production company in Sri Lanka, won the Silver Award in the medium-scale dairy and associated products category at the Industrial Excellence Awards ...
Read more »
Africans Urged to Invest Among themselves, Explore Investment Opportunities in Continent Addis Ababa, November 27/2023(ENA)-The Embassy of Angola in Ethiopia has organized lecture on the “Foreign Investment Opportunities in Angola ...
Read more »
144 The dynamic front row player Mohan Wimalaratne will lead the Police Sports Club Rugby team at the upcoming Nippon Paint Sri Lanka Rugby Major League XV-a-side Rugby Tournament scheduled ...
Read more »
Dozens of people living with disabilities from New Hope Inclusive in Entumbane, Bulawayo on Saturday last week received an early Christmas gift in the form of groceries. The groceries were ...
Read more »
The East African Community (EAC) Summit of Heads of State has admitted the Federal Republic of Somalia to the regional bloc, making it its 8th member country. The decision was ...
Read more »