Barcelona coach Xavi's coaching level is not high, but when he announced that he would leave the Barcelona coaching position after the end of this season, people were a little reluctant to leave the "big mouth". In the early morning of January 28th, Beijing time, Barcelona lost 3-5 at home to Villarreal, setting two shameful records in the 22nd round of La Liga.
Barcelona humiliated at home
Since January 1963, Barcelona has conceded as many as five goals in a La Liga home game for the first time. The last time it was a 1-5 home defeat to arch-rival Real Madrid, this period of time exceeds the length of a man's career from birth to retirement. period. Barcelona was eliminated by Bilbao 2-4 after overtime in the Copa del Rey on January 25. In addition, Barcelona conceded 5 goals in this game. This was the first time since 1951 that the La Liga giants had 4 goals in two consecutive games. conceded goals or more.
The game had twists and turns. With the goals of Moreno and Ahomak, Villarreal took a 2-0 lead in the away game. Harvey's adjustments in the second half had a certain effect. Gundogan and Pedri, who came off the bench, scored two goals in a row. In the 71st minute, former Manchester City captain Gundogan took a free kick, causing former Manchester United defender Bailly to score an own goal. Barcelona led 3-2. The home team was originally in a good situation. However, the Barcelona team suddenly "lost power" and subsequently lost three goals in a row. Guedes equalized the score in the 83rd minute, and Solov and Morales scored two consecutive goals in injury time.
What embarrasses Barcelona's home fans is that Villarreal is no longer the strong team that will reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the 2021-2022 season. After winning this game, it can only temporarily rank 14th in La Liga this season. Such a team Teams in the lower middle can go to Barcelona's home court to run wild.
Last season, Barcelona won the La Liga championship largely because it had the best defense in the five major European leagues. In the first 14 rounds of La Liga, it only conceded a total of 5 goals. This time, 5 goals were conceded in one game. A goal conceded. Barcelona lost 1 to 3 to its rival Real Madrid in the first 14 rounds of the league last season. In the other 13 rounds, they only conceded two goals. Basically, they would not concede when they met a team of Villarreal's level. Ball. This season, Barcelona's defensive regression has been staggering, conceding 29 goals in 21 rounds.
Harvey becomes the scapegoat?
In the La Liga standings, Barcelona ranks third with 44 points, 10 points behind the "leader" Real Madrid, and 8 points behind the second-ranked Girona. Not only is it basically hopeless to defend the title, it will not even participate in the next Spanish Super Cup. You may not get the qualifications. The Spanish Super Cup is played by the champion and runner-up of La Liga and the champion and runner-up of the Spanish Cup. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Girona have all missed the semi-finals of the King's Cup. If Barcelona cannot reach the top two of La Liga, it will miss the next Spanish Super Cup. If Barcelona cannot participate in the Spanish Super Cup, the Spanish Football Federation is suspected of breaching the contract and may be deducted approximately 5 million euros in appearance fees by the organizer Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona's collapse coincided with the recent conclusion of the Spanish Super Cup. On January 15, they were humiliated 1-4 by their archrival Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final. On January 25, Barcelona was eliminated in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals by Bilbao 2-4 after overtime. Bilbao coach Valverde once led Barcelona to win La Liga championships twice. In this game, Barcelona was humiliated again by Villarreal, coached by former Bilbao coach Marcelino.
Marcelino can be called the star of Barcelona. He led Bilbao to reverse Barcelona 3-2 in overtime in the Spanish Super Cup final three years ago. Messi, the world champion, was suspended for retaliating against his opponent near the end of overtime in that game. A direct red card was sent off, which was Messi's only red card in his long Barcelona career.
Although Harvey was once a midfield master, he still lacks experience as a coach and has encountered a bottleneck this season. Recently, Xavi exposed his immature side in front of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde and Villarreal coach Marcelino. Although Xavi recently renewed his contract with Barcelona until 2025, he decided to leave early.
Xavi led Barcelona to win the La Liga championship last season for the first time in four years. The last coach to lead Barcelona to win the La Liga championship was Valverde. Former club president Bartomeu was too destructive to the team. Barcelona was in financial crisis and failed to effectively strengthen the La Liga championship lineup. Especially after Busquets, the main midfielder for many years, left the team last summer, Barcelona's control of the midfield has significantly declined. Barcelona's investment in signings last summer was only 3.4 million euros. This shabby operation and the shortcomings of Xavi's coaching formed a vicious circle.
Xavi said after the game: "I would like to announce that starting from June 30, I will no longer serve as Barcelona coach. This decision is irrevocable, even if I lead the team to win the Champions League." Xavi also said: "I don't want to Becoming a problem for the club. This game was sad, it was cruel to see us lose like this, I can't remember such a miserable game in my career. It is impossible to be Ferguson at Barcelona, The media won't allow it, it's too difficult. We need to change direction, change the momentum."
Yangcheng Evening News reporter Liu Yi