Xavi Hernandez Could Be Fired For FC Barcelona’s Endless European Failures

FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez could one day be fired for his continued failures in Europe.

For the second time in two seasons since he took over from Ronald Koeman in November 2021, the legendary midfielder has overseen Barca crashing out of the Champions League at the group stage and then being prematurely eliminated from its inferior cousin the Europa League.

While Barca at least reached the quarter finals in the latter competition in 2021/2022, losing to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt, they couldn’t get further than the playoffs and gain access to the last 16 on this occasion.

After a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Red Devils at Camp Nou last week, Barca took an early lead against Manchester United but collapsed in the second half.

Succumbing to two goals from Brazilian duo Fred and Antony, Barca lost 2-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate leading Xavi to lament a “very big disappointment”.

The Catalan press have called the debacle a fresh “nightmare”, and it remains to be seen how many continental Groundhog Days president Joan Laporta will put up with before he gives the iconic number ‘6’ the boot.

Granted Xavi has the full backing of the board for now, who see winning La Liga as a priority.

With the Blaugrana eight points clear of Real Madrid at the summit and conceding just seven goals in 22 games, a first top flight title in four years seems pretty much secure.

If Xavi can knock their bitter rivals out of the Copa del Rey semi-finals before going on to secure a double, the 43-year-old will have more than enough credit in the bank making the Europa League an afterthought.

Domestic domination puts Barca back where they are expected to be by their fans and higher-ups. Yet once that job is done, the focus will shift to the Champions League in which Barca have not been kings since 2015 while Madrid have gone on to lift the big-eared trophy a further four times.

Along with the four KOs, Xavi’s European record of winning just four out of 16 matches is concerning.

Even Koeman managed to get Barca to the last 16 of the UCL in 2020/2021. And while Xavi is an inexperienced and exciting young manager with an inexperienced and exciting young squad, he was outfoxed by a more street-smart Erik ten Hag as one popular account pointed out on Twitter.

Xavi needs to learn quickly from these slip-ups, and avoid being known as an Antonio Conte-like figure who can dominate leagues but continually comes up short on the continent.