Alone on the pitch, Xavi stood staring blankly ahead with his arms folded. All around him, Real Madrid players and personnel were celebrating their Supercopa de Espana final victory.
Barcelona’s manager was approached by the club’s communication officers, probably to advise him on what to say in the post-match press conference, but he appeared to care little about what was discussed — he still seemed in a state of shock.
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In this same final last January, also in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, Xavi laid the foundations of his project at Barcelona with a comprehensive victory over Clasico rivals Madrid.
The ball circulated quickly, and his side defended perfectly, putting Carlo Ancelotti’s team under high pressure. Barca ended up winning 3-1, with goals from Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri, and the performance consolidated an idea Xavi had been working on since the players returned from the World Cup break a couple of weeks earlier: playing with four midfielders.
Xavi has often referred to that match in recent press conferences. Since he started to face criticism over the team’s performances this term, he has tended to compare this season with the previous one, pointing out that, after that Supercopa triumph, the team went upwards.
He was clinging on to the prospect of this competition — Spain’s version of the Community Shield but expanded to four clubs — once again being his turning point, the ‘click’ he is looking for.
However, the only similarity between the two finals was that Lewandowski scored in both. In the rest, they were total opposites. Everything that went perfectly 12 months ago went dramatically wrong in Sunday’s 4-1 defeat.
Let’s start with the defence.
Xavi put Ronald Araujo at right-back to try to control Vinicius Junior, with Jules Kounde playing as a centre-back. This has been the norm in recent Clasicos and has served to successfully neutralise Madrid’s Brazilian forward.
But last night, Vinicius Jr played more centrally, and instead of switching Araujo’s position to counter this tweak by Ancelotti, the Uruguayan stayed at full-back. The result was that, after 10 minutes, Barca were already 2-0 down with both goals scored by the Madrid forward. Madrid were able to do a lot of damage through the middle and both Kounde and Araujo were culpable.
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Later in the game, Araujo gave away a needless penalty by grabbing Vinicius Jr. For that offence, he saw a first yellow card. He was eventually sent off with 20 minutes to play following a second yellow for another foul on the Madrid forward, after seeing him get away with ease.
Araujo is so often a leader for Barca (in a team that lacks true leadership) but, throughout this game, he was erratic and disconnected. It was obvious he is not at the level he attained last year.
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Alejandro Balde also looked off the pace, although Xavi opted to position him too far forward — something that penalised him. The full-back is not skilful in one-on-one situations; his great quality is his speed. Since he was placed closer to the opponent’s box last night, as if he were a winger, he wasn’t able to bring as much danger to the Madrid back line.
In midfield, there was a similar problem. The lines were further forward, which meant that when Barca lost the ball Madrid’s midfielders had easy passes to two very quick players in Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo. This led to them being badly exposed on the counter.
In addition, Xavi lined up with four midfielders — Frenkie de Jong, Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri and Sergi Roberto. The priority seemed to be getting hold of the ball and not losing it. In the game’s first 15 minutes, however, Madrid had over 70 per cent of the possession. And throughout the match, Barca applied little pressure to their opponents. They looked like a youth team trying to take the ball away from a professional side.
Xavi’s players were disorganised, without ideas, and seemed unclear about which position they should be playing. It was as if they hadn’t understood their coach’s instructions regarding a formation that didn’t appear to feature a clear defensive pivot.
Many things were lacking, but at the top of the list were ideas and character. There was a lot of confusion. And in the second half, there was a lack of ability to react — something Barcelona have shown this year against more humble opponents.
Up front, Lewandowski scored one of their best goals of the season, a volley that gave some hope as it halved that early 2-0 lead on 33 minutes, before Vinicius Jr soon after and Rodrygo midway through the second half buried any optimism, wrapping up Madrid’s win.
“We have played very good football this season, I would say better than last year, but one thing is what you analyse and another is what I see,” Xavi said in his pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“The idea doesn’t change whether we play with four midfielders or three. It’s about setting, triangulation and numerical superiority. It’s a DNA that Johan Cruyff instilled 30 years ago. Last year, we were very proud of Barca in the (Supercopa) final and this is the way we are looking for, true to Cruyffism.”
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These are statements that have not aged well.
Sunday’s match showed Barca are not playing any better than last year and that the sporting crisis hanging over the team is real.
In the pre-season Clasico in the U.S, Xavi’s team were superior to Madrid, and they beat them 3-0. In October’s La Liga meeting, home side Barca dominated most of the game and played an excellent 60 minutes, but were defeated 2-1 following two moments of genius from Jude Bellingham.
This time, they could no longer play Madrid on equal terms, and they finished the game with the feeling that even more harm might have been done.
When the final whistle came, mercifully without any time added on, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez wept inconsolably. This was supposed to be Xavi’s season of consolidation, and yet his reigning champions have gone backwards.
Sporting director Deco said the club are not thinking about changing their manager, but no one can deny that doubts now surround Xavi’s future.
(Top photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)