The loss against Villarreal late in January hit Barcelona like an absolute bombshell. Not only because they had just eaten five goals at home, in an absolutely bizarrely disheartening way, but also because of the events that followed.
Soon after the game, Xavi took to the press conference table for his post-game address and almost immediately announced his decision to resign from Barcelona at the end of the season.
The Barça board had no idea that Xavi was going to do this, and were completely unprepared.
Since then, they have decided that their first priority is to convince Xavi to stay with the club beyond the summer.
They are hoping that the club’s performances in the Champions League and La Liga will continue to improve by the time the season ends, which will be enough to convince the Spaniard to continue as the manager.
Regardless of that, though, the Catalans are preparing a contingency list in case Xavi does not want to stay at the club.
Barcelona appreciate Nagelsmann
One of the names that have been linked to Barcelona, amidst a sea of others, is Julian Nagelsmann. Currently the coach of the German National Team, nobody quite knows what is in store for his future.
Barça Universal have been told by Adrian Sanchez, a journalist close to the Catalan club, that Barcelona appreciate Nagelsmann’s modern approach to the game and his flexible tactical style.
However, Barcelona do not consider him a realistic option to take over from Xavi right now, reportedly due to a lack of experience.
Still only 36, Nagelsmann is one of the youngest managers in Europe, but has been coaching at a senior level since 2016. Xavi, on the contrary, had only coached Al-Sadd before taking over the Barcelona gig.
Nagelsmann will definitely have a sea of suitors ready in the summer, though, especially if he decides to call it quits on his time with Germany after the European Championship.
The likes of Liverpool and Bayern Munich will be without a manager for next season, while Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, and a few others might also have openings by the time this season calls curtains.
Barça Universal’s take
Rejecting Nagelsmann only due to a lack of experience could be a rather poor decision from Barcelona.
His CV speaks volumes already, after only seven years in the game as a senior manager. He took RB Leipzig to the Champions League semi-finals, and has also already coached Bayern Munich – winning the Bundesliga.
Nagelsmann is one of the most flexible managers in the modern game, who is able to seamlessly adapt to his opponents while maintaining a modern, fluid, attacking base for his team.
Finally, given the age of the current Barcelona team, it actually might be the best idea to bring in a young manager who can find more in common with the team as opposed to a rigid old man.
