The ‘Conspiracy’ In FC Barcelona’s Locker Room

It has now become fact that head coach Xavi Hernandez has completely reversed FC Barcelona’s fortunes since taking over from Ronald Koeman in November.

Back then, the Blaugrana were languishing in ninth in the La Liga table and were on the cusp of elimination from the Champions League.

And while there wasn’t enough time for Xavi to already ring the sufficient changes to keep the Catalans in the continent’s top tournament, Barca are now in the quarter-finals of the Europa League a rung down the ladder and have reached second on a domestic front behind leaders Real Madrid, who they also thrashed 4-0 away at the Bernabeu in El Clasico a fortnight ago prior to the international break.

Sunday’s 1-0 win over Sevilla thanks to a late moment of Pedri genius sealed Barca’s current berth, and SPORT claim that a “conspiracy” has been born in the locker room at Camp Nou.

In short, despite being 12 points and a game behind Real Madrid in the title race, there is no giving up in the fight and it ain’t over until it’s over.

“As long as it’s mathematically possible, we will keep fighting. We’re going to try. It’s unlikely that Madrid slip up so much, but we will give everything until the end,” Xavi vowed post-match at the weekend, while his star center back Ronald Araujo said that “as long as there are chances” to win, “we will fight”.

The same paper highlights that the three points achieved against Sevilla were so much more than that – with the defensive work of Ousmane Dembele, the “improvised huddle” that the players formed at full time, and the way they thanked the fans all signals that something is changing in attitude and that the team has taken a radical turn.

Barca now have an “uncompromising commitment to possession, because of the aggressive pressure” they put on up front “for pure wingers and for players with the ability to go from outside to inside and vice versa”, it has also been pointed out.

The performance of players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong has been maximized, while others such as Eric Garcia and Dembele have taken an important step forward as Pedri’s genius continues to blossom.

It seems clear that Barca will not surrender until the stats raise the white flag for them, and that the stars and their manager have conspired together to do all they can to snatch the crown away from Los Blancos.