9 november 2021 – Xavi has been officially presented as the successor to Ronald Koeman. The former FC Barcelona player gives the football players a lot less freedom. The new trainer expects more discipline from his players.
On Tuesday Xavi was on the training field with the group for the first time. The players were immediately told the new rules, AS reports. The coach wants his players to be present at the club ninety minutes before training. It should help the team have breakfast at the club before they go on the field. The technical staff even has to appear at the training complex half an hour earlier.
After the training sessions, it is also mandatory for Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong and the other players to eat at the club. ‘The voluntariness is over’, writes AS. Players who arrive late will receive a fine that is always double the previous fine. It should ensure that the players spend more time together, which makes the mutual bond stronger.
Luis Enrique already worked with such a fine system in the past, but that disappeared after his departure. Xavi now brings that back again, where there are three different types of violations: minor, serious and serious. The fact that the coach is reintroducing those rules has everything to do with his own experiences at the Catalan club. Pep Guardiola also worked with such a penalty system when the successes were strung together.
A curfew has also been imposed. Xavi wants his players to be home before midnight two days before a game, in order to build extra discipline and have the players appear as fit as possible at kick-off. Furthermore, the Barcelona technical staff must give permission for activities that have nothing to do with football, but which take up a lot of time, for example a long journey. In addition, the football players are no longer allowed to surf or go into town on an electric bicycle in their spare time. If they do, it counts as a ‘serious’ violation.
