FC Barcelona news: How would Xavi encounter the Barca issues

Xavi will see a lot of changes in this FC Barcelona team after he left in 2015. Xavi left the club after winning an astonishing treble. His days in Qatar with Al-Sadd are coming to an end, with whom he is currently coaching.

With Lionel Messi's departure, the team's finances have shambled down, With Luis Enrique leaving the club. Followed by three more coaches in Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien, and Ronald Koeman, FC Barcelona's condition is not in a good shape.

There is a change in presidential position too, a familiar face, in Joan Laporta. The challenge of not only restoring FC Barcelona to their deserved place both domestically and in Europe but recovering a cherished style of play that has been diluted and abandoned in the past half-decade.

Not Enough Trust

"I would just like to thank…" said Victor Font. "Xavi!" joked Joan Laporta.

He was just a punchline for the president-to-be during the election campaign. Laporta joked at Font's plans for the club, which revealed Xavi as a key player, and considered the former midfielder to lead Barcelona.

However, he hesitantly decided to keep Koeman in charge during the summer, unable to get any of his preferred targets.

"We need a coach with more experience," said Laporta in February about Xavi, indicating he should take over at Barcelona B first. However, after finally sacking Koeman, Laporta is looking at their best choice for Barca.

It puts Xavi in quite a tricky situation because he is not Laporta's first choice. He is just the best option at this point to lead the team forward. The president will try to smooth things over in the press conference at Xavi's presentation but if there is no belief and trust behind them, then things can fall quickly.

Reunion Among Old Teammates

With Xavi's arrival to Camp Nou, he will come across various old faces. But this time not as their friends, but as their boss.

The likes of Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, and Jordi Alba can be useful.  But their performances this season have not been strong enough to match their reputation or salaries, or their pay cuts.

With Pique being badly exposed at center-back, most recently by Luis Rioja in the 1-1 draw with Alaves on Saturday, Busquets can be overrun in midfield. Roberto is regularly the target of fans in a frustrated Camp Nou, while Alba's defensive weaknesses can be taken advantage of.

Xavi, in his final days at FC Barcelona, mainly had a substitute role where he could come on and help slow the game down to keep his team ahead and take the sting out of it, so at least he knows one way he could go about the issue.

High Expectations

Barcelona fans will likely give Xavi time to overcome the situation which sees the club ninth in La Liga and struggling in their Champions League group. They know it will take time for him to impose his tactical ideas. For some from the list of injured players - Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, etc - to return.

The fans do understand that the squad is weak and youngsters will need the development to improve and that the greatest player in their history, Messi, is no longer around to pull them out of the danger.

However, Xavi has been attracted towards the idea that he will be the club's savior; the second coming of Pep Guardiola. As Johan Cruyff coached Pep, Pep coached Xavi.

To all the Barca fans, he will be expected to achieve greatness, as Pep did.

Guardiola set an impressively high standard and however well Xavi does, it is extremely difficult to live up to those expectations. Supporters expect legends to return and flourish, but recent cases - Andrea Pirlo at Juventus, Frank Lampard at Chelsea. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, and, of course, Koeman at Barcelona, show it often doesn't work out.

Rebuilding

The development of young players at Barcelona under Koeman has been pointed out by the media. There's no doubt the coach allowed plenty of youngsters on for their debuts. But the question is whether they have progressed or not.

Pedri played quite a lot of matches but it was Rique Puig who was barely given a chance. Frenkie de Jong is one such player who has deteriorated and was given the responsibility of carrying the team on his back. When he is 24 and needs a coach who can help him become one of the best midfielders in the world. 

Ansu Fati has been one of the players who has been termed as the savior of the team. He's often expected to provide Match winning contributions.

Xavi should help these players out and help them grow to have a better chance in the team.

Lack of Defence

Barcelona's backline has been very weak under Koeman. In six of their past seven games, the first effort on target has gone in. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is not at his best and the defense in front of him has been very poor.

Xavi wants some attacking football and to have a high possession game. Which will eventually limit the number of opposition attacks. But without a fast defender who can catch countering strikers, there is the chance that FC Barcelona will be vulnerable when pushing teams back into their half. He will be aware of Guardiola's tactical foul acts that prevent the opponents from doing some damage.

Trust of Fans

Xavi after his arrival should look to get the trust of the fans and bond all of them back together. This revival of trust among fans will greatly help the team to get their fighting spirits back.