Andres Iniesta, a former colleague of the Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez’s at the Catalan club, offered support despite the team’s elimination from the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.
After winning 9 of his first 11 matches in the tournament this season, Barcelona sits second in the Spanish league standings, 3 points behind its archrivals (leaders), although he has come under fire for recent failures at the continental level.
Barcelona said goodbye to the Champions League in the group stage for a second time in a row on Wednesday in the fifth round of the third group, following losses to Inter, Italy (4-0), its Czech guest Victoria Plzen, and the Spanish club (0-3) in front of its German guest Bayern Munich.
During its direct clashes with Bayern, Barcelona has now suffered six losses in a row.
However, Iniesta is confident that Xavi will bounce back from this setback as he stated to the Italian publication Corriere dello Sport on Thursday that he is “quite happy” to see his former midfield partner for Barcelona at the head of the current technical staff.
Regarding Xavi, Iniesta said: “He is a friend and will have a wonderful march with the team.” Barcelona served as his study guide when he was there.
While 38-year-old Iniesta, who is currently playing for Japanese team Vesel Kobe, accepts that his time in the green rectangle is almost up, he is unsure of whether he will adopt Xavi’s training regimen or not.
I know it won’t be a happy day when I have to retire, Xavi stated. I’ll think back to when my father used to take me to play, and I’ll be sorry for a lot of things.
I’ll also consider the future, but I’m not sure if I want to be a sports management or a coach just yet. I still don’t have any distinct thoughts.
Iniesta and Xavi formed one of the most well-known midfield combinations in football history, and during the 2005–2006 and 2014–2014 seasons, they helped Barcelona win four Champions League championships.
After the defeat in Barcelona, Iniesta is confident in his friend Xavi.
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