Details of Xavi’s tough rant with ‘touch’ of ‘heavyweight’

Xavi Hernandez He arrived at halftime of the match very “on fire” Almeria. The image of his team’s indifference and the fact that the score was tied at 1-1 at the end of the 45th minute of the game against the bottom team, putting the Andalusian team in danger of scoring an Andalusian goal. Iñaki Peñaturned on the Barcelona coach.

The result of all this was: Xavi he dedicated to his soccer players fierce anger, according to some witnesses. The Barça coach himself admitted it in the post-match press conference: “At half-time, I had the toughest talk as a coach. Did it work? You already saw it.” He criticized the players who thought they were in a dangerous position. Almeria That would never happen at home, much less. balsathat’s a shame, and either you change your attitude and don’t run with all your heart, or you won’t get anything.

In fact, he also had specific criticisms of certain players. Robert LewandowskiAnd about his performance in the first half. The Polish player ultimately proved decisive with an assist. Sergi Roberto. One of the people affected by his harsh comments said that no Barça manager had ever been so harshly critical of his players internally. XaviAs before, he accompanied some of his criticisms with attacks on the tactical committee.

Two important changes

On a tactical level, their halftime battle involved two changes. joan felix and Christensen Two soccer players who remained on the bench and took their place. Ferran Torres and KundeEach.

This is the 10th time Xavi change within the league joan felix However, he was not substituted at half-time. Even in the Champions League, the Barça manager replaced him in the four games in which he started. He did not play in one game (against Antwerp) and came on as a substitute in another (against Hamburg’s Schacter). The Portuguese looked ineffective in the first half.

Xavi He also missed in the middle. Christensenentered by a player who received a yellow card. Kunde. The Danish center back did not feel well while remaining on the field, appearing cold and not very strong in some movements.