Xavi Hernandez
Xavi Hernandez says Barcelona have lost their identity during the six years he’s been away from the club after his side left it late to beat Elche 3-2 on Saturday.
Nico Gonzalez struck the winner in the 85th-minute as Barca recovered from squandering a two-goal lead at Camp Nou to end a run of three games without a win.
Xavi left Barca as a player in 2015 after winning the Treble under Luis Enrique and admits he’s been surprised by what he’s encountered since returning as coach last month.
“We’ve lost [Barcelona’s] model of play and we have to bring it back,” Xavi said in his post-game news conference.
“I have not been here for six years and there are things that have surprised me tactically. I wasn’t here so I don’t know who’s responsible for it, but it’s making [the job] hard for us.
“The large majority [of players] don’t understand positional play. There are mechanisms that I understood from the age of 11 and we have players here that haven’t worked on them.”
The win against Elche moved Barca up to seventh in LaLiga following the disappointment of being knocked into the Europa League last week and the draw against Osasuna.
To turn things around, Xavi has turned to youth, with players still technically registered with the B team scoring all three goals against Elche.
Ferran Jutgla, 22, opened the scoring on his first start for the club with Gavi, 17, scoring the second goal and then creating the winner for Nico, 19.