Barcelona sack Ronald Koeman, Thursday (10/28/2021). The legend of Villarreal and Spain, Santi Cazorla, thinks that his compatriot, Xavi Hernandez, deserves to fill the vacant position left by Koeman at Barcelona.
Koeman was sacked by Barcelona following the defeat to Rayo Vallecano in the 11th week of the 2021-2022 Spanish League. In that match, the Blaugrana’s game was far from satisfactory.
Despite having possession of up to 69 percent of the ball, Barcelona only had one shot on target which came from a Memphis Depay penalty. Because the penalty failed, Barcelona went home empty-handed at Camp Nou. Cazorla, who is now playing under Xavi at Al Sadd, recommended his coach to replace Koeman.
The former Arsenal player assesses Xavi’s strategy and philosophy is very suitable for Barcelona’s style of play.
He conveyed the teaching material for Barca’s academy, which is to defend the ball as much as possible,” Cazorla said, reported by Football Espana, Thursday (28/10/2021).
Cazorla thinks Xavi already knows Barcelona inside and out. In addition, Cazorla also revealed that Xavi has a clear game concept, namely tiki-taka.
“I think he understands football like that (tiki-taka), and he practices it. It’s not unique, but maybe in dominating possession, it’s unique,” said the player nicknamed El-Mago.
For your information, Cazorla and Xavi had spent time together in the Spanish National Team when the 2010 World Cup winner was still a player. According to Cazorla, Xavi’s talent as a coach was seen when he was still actively playing.
“At La Roja (Spain), when we were team-mates, he always had a football philosophy. It’s very clear,” he concluded.
