A defeat in the first leg of the Champions League could prove to be fatal for the Blaugrana coach. Rafa Márquez is lined up as a possible emergency solution.
The situation at Can Barça can be best be described as critical in every sense of the word. Sunday’s 3-3 draw against Granada only confirmed the chronicle of a death foretold. The vaunted reaction after the announcement of Xavi’s delayed resignation has barely lasted a week. This weekend’s setback has revealed all the ills of this team. So much so that right now, as AS has learned, no one in the club is capable of guaranteeing that the 44-year-old coach will still be in the job by the end of the season.
All eyes are focused on the Champions League tie against Napoli in a week’s time. The result of that match could mark Xavi’s short-term future. A defeat could precipitate the immediate departure of the current coach, with Rafa Márquez the leading candidate to be ushered in to occupy the bench until the end of the season.
President Joan Laporta, who continues to protect Xavi within the club, is beginning to show clear signs of exhaustion in the project, as was seen in the Montjuïc box last night, throwing a tray of canapés after the team practically spoiled any hopes of clinching LaLiga title. His advisors and trusted people have been pressuring him for some time to make a decision regarding the coach, as a first step in search of a reaction to a season in which some still see the Champions League as the only salvation.
Sports director, Deco, also seems to have turned his back on Xavi, especially after his latest statements to a Portuguese media, later denied and/or qualified, about the current model of Barcelona I was exhausted.
As AS has learned, Xavi has made it very
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