Xavi was confirmed as Barcelona's new manager yesterday six years after leaving the club as a player. He was a great player for the club during his playing days and now we're about to find out whether he's going to be a great manager after a successful time at Al Sadd in Qatar.
He's obviously got a massive job on his hands because of the state the club is in both on and off the pitch. If he's to fix the current mess he's in, he needs to do these five things to get Barca back to where they want to be.
Get rid of some players
Whenever a club is in transition, one of the most important things to do is to move some players on so they can bring some better ones in. Barca need to do exactly that because they have a number of players in their squad who are not Barcelona standard. With their current financial situation thrown in to the mix, moving some players on could help free up their finances as well as improve the team on the pitch.
Get the old guard on side
Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets are both former teammates of Xavi and he'll need both of them on side as they both know the club and are the most experienced players in the team. They were a core part of that successful side under Pep Guardiola between 2009 and 2012 along with Xavi so the new boss will need them both on board with what he wants to do if his side are to be successful.
Sort the recruitment side out
Barca's recruitment over the last few seasons are has been pretty dreadful with most of their signings failing to deliver. It's been a key part of their decline and if Xavi wants his side to be successful, he'll need the recruitment to be much better than what it has been so he can bring in the right players to fit his system. It will of course take time for him to build his own team but if he can address the recruitment side the moment he gets started, things will finally look upwards for Barca.
Continue promoting the youth
One of the very few good things Ronald Koeman did during his spell at the Nou Camp was promoting young players into the first team like Pedri and more recently Gavi. Barca have been blessed with many young players over the years such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi who all went on the become legends for the football club. If Xavi can develop the youngsters as well as promote them into the first team, Barca could be set for a bright future.
Bring back the tiki-taka style of play
The tiki-taka style of play was a crucial part of Barca's success when Xavi was playing and the fans will be hoping that he will bring it back. He played a possession based style at Al Sadd mostly playing a 4-3-3 formation which is what Barcelona are more suited to have been over the years. The tiki-taka style of play is a possession based game and as Xavi is a possession based coach, he'll hopefully bring back the famous style of play that Barca used to play.
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