Convulsive times are coming in the Barcelona dressing room after the new role that Jordi Alba and Gerard Piqué have been assigned to, heavyweights and undisputed starters who this season warm up the bench and have seen how they have become the last option for Xavi Hernandez. Of the 720 minutes that have been played so far (six league games and two Champions League games), the winger has played 198 minutes spread over three games and the center-back 135 in two games. Although Xavi has assured that both footballers will have minutes, the truth is that his facts say the opposite. However, the relationship among them it has been cooling down after the attitude of the footballers has gone sour, showing a certain apathy, which has disappointed the coach, who expected more than two players with stripes in the locker room and who should be an example for the rest.
The straw that broke the camel’s back came this past Saturday, during the match between Barcelona and Elche, in which the three captains (Busquets, Piqué and Alba) were substitutes and warmed up the bench. The television images captured the center-back for almost the entire game with a lost look and ignoring the members of the coaching staff who came to make a comment. But much more outrageous were Jordi Alba’s gestures, constantly yawning on the bench, denoting an unusual boredom considering that his team was playing. More than one technician criticized the laziness of the side, but the indignation was capitalized in the box. A manager was able to get angry when he saw the images on television. The president, Joan Laporta, was the most angry. He said that these attitudes could not be allowed. They all concluded that Alba’s new situation could be a problem in the short term.
The relationship between Jordi Alba and Xavi Hernández has become cloudy. The coach was no longer amused by the Catalan’s complaint at the end of last season when the club agreed to a friendly in Australia that would report about four million euros to the battered coffers of the entity. He did not like the idea of spending more than ten hours on a plane and the pain that the time difference meant to play a game that was useless when the season was already over. Very different attitude from the one that Etoo showed in his day with similar acts. «It doesn’t bother me to go to Egypt (it was 2007) to play a friendly because thanks to that income they can pay contracts like mine», explained the Cameroonian to whom this article is signed at the El Prat airport.
But the beginning of the real break came at the beginning of this season, coinciding with the first league game against Ray at Camp Nou (0-0). Xavi was annoyed with Jordi Alba because he returned from vacation in poor shape and far from his level, which he did not recover during the preseason, curdling a bad game against Rayo. The criticism reflected it and the technician too, although internally. The play that ended the patience of the egarense was Alba’s return to the trot after a loss by his team that caused a counterattack by the Vallecano team. It had to be Pedri who corrected his position with an extra effort. The canary suffered discomfort in that play. Jordi Alba did not get rid of the Xavi’s anger in the dressing room. He did not play against Real Sociedad, Valladolid and played the last minutes against Sevilla, with the match decided.
Alba’s yawns
The side, on the bench during the match against Elche
Jordi Alba’s discomfort grew when he found out reading the newspapers that Barcelona was reaching an agreement to loan him out before the transfer market closed. “To me I like to go face and let them face me. In this world of football, nothing surprises me anymore, ”said the side in an advertising act in a clear message to Laporta. He also referred to his new situation in the team: «I don’t have to vindicate myself, I’ve been here for many years and I try to do what’s best for the team. I have never complained if I don’t play and I wish I can play much. I will work and try to help young people. I’ve been at the club for many years and I’ve also gone through times when I haven’t played. Now I have not had those minutes, but I have tried to encourage the group as much as I could.
However, locker room sources assure that his attitude has changed and he does not hesitate to express his discontent. The most recent after the physical trainers sent him a specific work plan, something that all footballers receive, without exception. “Overall, what for? Yes later I am not going to play», reveals the newspaper ‘Ara’ that he mumbled to the surprise of the technical staff and the colleagues who were nearby.
Jordi Alba has seen that Xavi is not bluffing. He bet on the young man Alexander Baldewhich has five starts, and the sports management strengthened its position with the signing of Mark Alonso, who is emerging as the holder of the left wing, which may even cost him his position in the national team. Although Luis Enrique has taken Alba for these next two games in Spain, if he does not play for Barça and Marcos Alonso does, it is likely that he will bet on the former Chelsea player to go to Qatar World Cup.
The yawn on the bench against Elche is the straw that has broken the camel’s back for the club’s patience, which already wanted him out this season to lighten the wage bill and now sees the winter market as an opportunity to get rid of a footballer what does it cost 30 million gross per season, between salary and deferrals.
