BARCELONA IS BACK - that's how XAVI made THE MONSTER TEAM again!

Barcelona are back! Yeah, we can now say it with full confidence. The matter is that the Catalans have taken their first trophy since 2021. Moreover, they did it in a clash against Europe's strongest team and their sworn rival, Real Madrid. The Spanish Super Cup triumph was truly symbolic for all cules, as both the team and the club went through a very exhausting road to reach the top. In today's episode, we are about to find out how Barcelona managed to once again become a powerful force on the European and World football map. Subscribe to the Football Club because it is a channel of high-quality football journalism. Hit the like button if you support Barca and wish the Catalans continued success in the future. Besides, don't forget to share your opinion on the best footballer of Blaugrana team in the comments below. Without further ado, we proceed to begin. Let's get into it. A club starts with a president and a team starts with a coach. These are two key links of any club. Until very recently, Barcelona were constantly suffering, even despite the fact of the great and mighty Leo Messi still representing the club. Bartomeu was the president and Koeman was the team's boss. Neither of them matched Barca's level though. In the midst of the 2022-21 campaign, La Porta returned to power once again, but Koeman remained. In the summer of 2021, Barca faced one of the biggest club tragedies. They could not fit Messi's new contract into La Liga FFP rules. Thus, they were forced to let go of the best player in history. After a disappointing summer with Ronald in charge, Barca completely failed at the start of the new season, dropping to ninth place in La Liga table and showing a poor display in the Champions League group stage. It was then that La Porta's team managed to complete difficult negotiations with Alsad and bring Xavi to Camp Nou in a new role as the head coach of the first team. Since La Computadora's arrival, the process of the team's gradual rise began. The club board and the manager moved in the same direction with maximum trust in each other. Subsequently, successful signings of Aubameyang, Dani Alves and Ferran paid off the costs, allowing the squad to finish the league in second place. In the summer of 2022, Barca began the most extensive transfer campaign since the summer of 2014, recruiting Lewandowski for 45 million euros, Rafinha for 58 and Koundé for 50 million euros. At the same time, other positions were also boosted almost for free with Christensen, Kessier, Alonso and Bellerin joining the Catalan's camp. Truly a top-notch work from the club's sports management led by Mateo Aleman. At some point, the roster seemed to be ready to complete even for the Champions League title. But despite the bad performance and exit to the Europa League, one cannot state that Xavi and his team have failed to deliver. The team has made a huge step forward in the overall quality of their game compared to last season, as evidenced by the current first place in La Liga and the first trophy under Xavi, which is victory in the Spanish Super Cup. Xavi had a very bad time since he came and the Super Cup victory gave him a peace of mind and a hope that the team can achieve a lot by playing well. You have to be patient. There are quality players, but they are very young, Xavi's father, Joaquim Hernandez, noted in an interview with the Spanish media. However, Xavi himself knows how much work is left to do. I want to win and play well for the team to enjoy. I think you might have seen it the other day. I don't feel liberated after winning the Super Cup. I feel pressure before every other game. This is Barca and it will never change. I know how this club works, Xavi said after beating Real Madrid. And now it's worth talking about the strength of today's Barcelona and answer the question. Why Xavi makes progress with the squad? The first important aspect is the ability to manage the dressing room. Of course, it is much easier to do without Lionel Messi nearby, but even here Xavi demonstrated. He knows how to put his former teammates in their place. We are talking about Pique, Roberto, Busquets and Alba. Only Sergio has retained his place in the starting lineup. Gerrard has retired, while Roberto and Alba remain important assets for rotation. No more conflicts emerge within the team. A healthy working atmosphere is on its peak. Isn't this the merit of the coach? The second aspect dwells upon the rules. As soon as Xavi took charge, he introduced a number of important rules. This way to discipline the team, which suffered from the lack of a proper routine. Which of these rules would we highlight? Players arrive 90 minutes before training. Staff arrive 2 hours before training. Players have breakfast and lunch at Ciutat Esportiva. Introduction of fines for lateness or absence from training sessions. Geometric progression of fines for repeat offenders. 48-hour curfew before the games meant to boost the self-discipline of the players, who have to go to bed on time. Fair treatment of all players. Whoever shows maximum effort ends up playing in the starting XI. Ban of other non-football activities outside matches and training sessions with a focus only on football matters. Other sports are prohibited. Players must monitor their image and reputation. Bonus days off for winning matches. All mentioned rules had an incredible impact. Barca have actually become one of the strongest European clubs in Europe and the world right now. If Baumgrana did make it to the Champions League knockout stages, they would be considered one of the favorites of the tournament. Footballers' development under Xavi deserves a separate spot. There are many such cases to talk about. Der Stegen, Araujo, Balde, Gavi, Pedri and especially Ousmane Dembele. Generally speaking, the team looks balanced. While the performance appreciates skills their boss possesses. The fact that he works with us is amazing. He gives a lot to the team. He knows the kind of soccer he wants to put on, the kind of football he's watched since he was a kid at Barcelona. To have him in a team is a luxury. Pedri praises his coach. He always tells me to get more into the area and shoot, or to take risks, to dare to try a one-on-one. I feel more and more comfortable up top. Great Xavi is to blame for a goal against Atletico. And these are Pedri's words on Xavi's other important skills. Xavi tries to give each of his guys advice, which can improve their performance. He has his own development plan for each of the players, and this cannot go unnoticed. Let's take Ousmane Dembele, who came from being the main dressing room slacker to one of the team's leaders after Xavi's appointment. That's just how Xavi works. Rules equal to discipline plus players' development and trust in each of them. Well, one cannot but talk about Xavi's main coaching skill, the ability of his staff to prepare for any opponent. The latest matches against clubs from Madrid, Atletico and Real were especially noticeable in this regard. It was here that Barca faced their main opponents in a domestic arena. Therefore, it was here that they had to pass the crucial exam. And Xavi passed with flying colors taking two victories, 1-0 and 3-1, respectively. Interestingly enough, the tactics were similar in both clashes, but after seeing the weak points after the one against Atletico, Xavi made the right conclusions and already in a tie against Real, the squad looked absolutely unstoppable. More details? All right. Barca played both duels with a 4-3-3 formation, which elegantly transformed into 3-5-2 in attack and 4-4-2 in defense. The whole point lies in the role of the left flank winger, performed by Pedri during the game against Atletico and by Gavi against Real. Barca were less convincing while facing Atletico because Pedri's efforts were not enough, especially in defense of actions. Given his opponent, Noel Molina, too much space on the right wing up front, here are two screenshots that perfectly illustrate our point very well. Los Colchoneros had a big advantage in the second half because of it. Xavi realized that for Clash vs Real Madrid he needed a more mobile and tenacious Gavi for the role. And look what an amazing result it gave us! Barcelona totally dominated the whole game, and Gavi both managed to score and delivered assists while doing a good job in defense. Turns out Xavi toppled his rivals with accurate calculations, and Gavi was the right pick to implement the manager's ideas. The coach's juggling with tactical schemes and squad rotation options worked out well, making visible one of his core strengths. All footballers feel important and are waiting for their chance to shine. The atmosphere in this roster is excellent, and thus the results correspond to the set goals. Despite getting knocked out of the Champions League, Barcelona still seriously claimed three more trophies this season. Barca could win La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Europa League. By the way, now it will be much more fun to watch the battle between yesterday's losers, Barcelona and Manchester United, in the Europa League Round of 16, a showdown worth the spot in the Champions League knockout phase. Barcelona have finally returned to the cohort of the world's best clubs, being a truly formidable force at the moment. What Laporta and his team and Xavi and his team have done is unbelievable. From the status of most depressed teams in the world, Barca have risen to a big deal of a club, feared and respected all across the globe. Hopefully, we have explained well why Barcelona are back and why they became monsters of world football once again, winning their first trophy in a post-Messi era. Give us a like if you enjoyed this video, subscribe to the project to watch our latest videos, and also don't forget to write your feedback on this one in the comments below. The Football Club was with you. Check out our other Barcelona-related videos. See you next time!