FC Barcelona Coach Xavi Hernandez Addresses ‘Over-The-Top Criticism’

FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has addressed ‘over-the-top criticism’ ahead of his team’s meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Completing two years in the manager’s hotseat on November 6, Xavi has recently come under fire because of last month’s loss to Real Madrid in El Clasico and a performance he blasted as “unacceptable” at the weekend when an injury time header from Ronald Araujo was required to beat Real Sociedad 1-0.

In his pre-match press conference on Monday prior to facing Ukrainian foes Shakhtar in Hamburg 24 hours later, Xavi was asked whether criticism of his team and the way he is leading it has been “over-the-top”.

“I think that’s the way it is,” Xavi said. “It’s always going to happen at Barca. It’s the environment we have, and what we have to do is analyse how we are from the inside and be honest. We’ve done our analysis.”

Pushed to comment on the status of his sporting project, Xavi revealed a belief that he and his staff have been meeting their objectives after saving the season in their first half-term and then winning La Liga in the second.

“I think we are halfway there, we have to recover excellence. I think we’re doing a good job, but we’re halfway there to get back to a great Barca – one that competes in Europe and dominates domestic competitions,” Xavi added.

Despite being disappointed with his side’s display away at La Real, Xavi noted on Saturday that to play badly but still claim all three points is the mark of champions.

For him, then, to combine good play with a positive result is an “ideal scenario” though it is clearly not always the case.

“The perfect movie is to play sublime and win. There are games where you lack continuity, [and] we have to find the formula to get to that stage in every game.

“That already tells you that it won’t happen in every game. But we have to believe in what we are doing: we are going through a very good process,” Xavi concluded.