FILE PHOTO: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has been feeling the pressure in the recent past. Picture: BT Sports
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0 JOHANNESBURG: “The feeling of being a Barca coach is cruel, unpleasant and unpleasant one.”
Barcelona FC legend and head coach Xavi Hernandez has announced that he will vacate his position at the end of the 2023/24 season. The announcement, made after the club’s 5-3 defeat to Villarreal in a Spanish La Liga encounter over the weekend, follows a remark that he “does not want to be the problem.”
The news of Hernandez’s departure are quite shocking since he still has a year left in his contract. The 44-year-old, who won the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Spain in South Africa, hinted at possible internal turmoil in the camp as part of the reason he has decided to leave the Catalans.
“The feeling of being a Barca coach is cruel, unpleasant and unpleasant one,” said Hernandez. “There is a lot of disrespect and it affects you until it leads to a decision like this one.”
Coming off a successful 2022/23 season, he led Spanish giants to their first league title since 2019. The club, however, has not been able to replicate those performances and magic this season.
Following the loss against Villarreal, chances of Barcelona FC retaining the league title are slim. They are 11 points behind surprising leaders Girona FC, who have amassed 55 points and are 10 points behind their bitter rivals, Real Madrid, who are second placed with 54 points.
The Saturday’s loss has compounded a difficult month that Xavi and his men have endured. Three days prior to the match, they were eliminated from the Copa Del Rey in the quarterfinals by Athletic Club. Less than two weeks earlier, they were dismantled 4-1 in the El Clasico by their sworn enemies Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana final.
A day prior to Barca’s match against Villarreal, Jurgen Klopp, who coaches Liverpool FC in the English Premier League (EPL), took the football fraternity by surprise with an announcement that he will leave the club at the end of the season in June.
For Hernandez, one can argue that, as indicated above, the writing had been on the wall, but not for Klopp, who has won every cup on offer with Liverpool. Naturally, the question begs itself as to where to for Klopp and Xavi. As a popular saying goes, only time will tell.
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