The desperation is starting to show as Barcelona chases a title this season. Manager Xavi Hernandez was seen visibly furious while scolding his players during Barcelona’s semi-final match at the Spanish Super Cup against Real Betis in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
The leaked video was taken from the half-time break during extra time, which eventually ended in a 2-2 draw. Barcelona squandered their lead twice from 1-0 and 2-1, allowing Betis to score an equaliser each time.
Before the final 15 minutes of extra time were played, Xavi was seen criticising his players for their passive approach. “Guys, we’re all standing still. We’re all stopped,” he said, before launching into expletives. “F***ing hell, guys! It’s a [place in the] final, which is a trophy!”
Needless to say, he admitted that he is feeling the pressure to get his hands on some silverware as soon as possible. Xavi is in the middle of his first full season as a Barcelona manager and he knows that the fans, media and the club’s management are impatient for things to turn around.
He came to the club’s rescue in the middle of the 2021-22 season, with no one really expecting him to finish with titles. He did a good job to lift the club from mid-table to second in La Liga, but that did not ease the pressure for him to win titles this season.
The players also motivated each other after his talk, but that did not help them score the winner. However, they did scrape past Betis in the shoot-out, booking their place in the final against title holders Real Madrid.
Before the start of the tournament, Xavi admitted that winning the first trophy of the season will give him peace of mind and will ease the pressure moving forward.
