XAVI COMES HOME

Italian football was again enveloped in a veil of scandal as o the pitch controversy provided an unwanted distraction from a scintillating opening to the season. On the weekend Serie A promoted a campaign to give violence against women the red card – players of all clubs supported it by wearing red marks on their cheeks – a female reporter was allegedly indecently assaulted by a fan live on television. Toscana TV journalist Greta Beccaglia was reporting outside the Carlo Castellani Stadium after Empoli had fought back to defeat Fiorentina 2-1 on November 27 when she was touched inappropriately by a Viola fan exiting the ground. It was a depressing development which sparked outrage across Italy and led Beccaglia to press charges for sexual harassment against the fan as well as three others, which could result in prison terms for the accused. The tidal wave of condemnation against the perpetrators suggests social attitudes across Italy are changing for the better. Meanwhile, Juventus were under investigation for alleged financial irregularities involving player transfers and transactions with agents over the last three years. The Italian Financial Police searched the club's o ces for documentation regarding claims that Juve inflated the value of a number of players and many of its hierarchy – including President Andrea Agnelli, Vice-President Pavel Nedved and former Sporting Director Fabio Paratici – were also being investigated. The Turin giants face the prospect of a heavy fine or losing league points if found guilty. Colourful Sampdoria President Massimo Ferrero resigned from his position after being arrested for alleged corporate and bankruptcy crimes. The investigations involved a number of the cinema mogul's past business ventures, none of which were connected to the Ligurian club which he took over in June 2014. The 70-year-old relinquished his position at Samp as soon as he was taken into custody in Milan. The timing could hardly have been worse as Ferrero was in negotiations with Red Star Belgrade and former Inter coach Dejan Stankovic as a replacement for the underperforming Roberto D'Aversa. around, but the fans’ patience is already at breaking point.

FAR LEFT: Juventus' vice president Pavel Nedved arrives for the Ballon d'Or ceremony

ABOVE: Juventus' president Andrea Agnelli (R) with vice-president Pavel Nedved (C) and CEO Maurizio Arrivabene (L)

LEFT: Juventus' former coach Andrea Pirlo and Juventus' vice president Pavel Nedved (R) during the 2021 'Partita del Cuore' (Match of the Heart) charity soccer match

TOP (OPPOSITE PAGE): Dusan Vlahovic

BOTTOM (OPPOSITE PAGE): Jose Mourinho reacts on the sidelines

While the organizers insist the Africa Cup of Nations is going ahead, the Italian authorities warn COVID restrictions could keep players out for even longer than previously thought. According to Italy's latest covid regulations, if a player does finish his Africa Cup of Nations experience, he must wait at least another 10-13 days before returning to training with his club in Italy.

Since 2017/18, no goalkeeper has saved more penalties than Alessio Cragno in Serie A. Cragno has made six penalty saves within that timeframe.

Inter have reportedly reached an agreement to terminate Christian Eriksen’s contract and are preparing an event at the Stadio Meazza to say goodbye to the Denmark international. The former Tottenham star has been out of action since su ering a cardiac arrest while playing for his country in Euro 2020.

Serbia forward Dusan Vlahovic’s value continued to skyrocket as his goals propelled Fiorentina into European contention. Already a wanted man across Europe, the 21-year-old simply could not stop scoring and netted five goals in four games from late November to early December to soar into Capocannoniere contention with 13 for the season.

Jose Mourinho endured a di cult start to the winter as Roma spectacularly stumbled. Losing at newly promoted Venezia was a low point but defeat on the road against Bologna and a three-goal humbling by former club Inter in the Italian capital represented a season nadir for a coach whose best years look to be behind him.

TOP: Bologna's Musa Barrow (L) and Juventus' Weston McKennie (R) in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Bologna FC and Juven tus FC

ABOVE: Roma’s Tammy Abraham celebrates after scoring the 1-4 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match Atalanta BC vs AS Roma

LEFT: Ibrahimovic in action during a Serie A soccer match

Serie A Presidents do not want to exclude Salernitana from the league, but the FIGC has the last word on the matter. The newly-promoted side could be excluded from Serie A in January as their owner Claudio Lotito has failed to find investors willing to buy the club. Serie A rules bar two clubs from playing in the same division under the same patron and Lotito also owns Lazio.

Spezia ultras locked their team inside the stadium following a disappointing defeat to a lower tier side that crashed them out of Europe. Lecce earned a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Picco, becoming the only Serie B side to make it into the Coppa Italia Round of 16. Following the match, Ultras blocked the gates of the stadium and refused to let the team out, demanding a meeting with them and coach Thiago Motta.

AFTER SIX YEARS AWAY XAVI HERNANDEZ RETURNS TO CAMP NOU IN HIS NEW GUISE AS A COACH. GREG MURRAY ASSESSES THE CHALLENGES LYING AHEAD FOR THE LEGENDARY MIDFIELDER IN A TUMULTUOUS TIME FOR BARCELONA…

Ever since Xavi Hernandez left his beloved Barcelona to become a player then coach in Qatar, fans have been eagerly anticipating his return. As it turns out, the wait was not as long as some may have expected as Joan Laporta saw only one option following E the dismissal of Ronald Koeman, shelling out €5m to secure the services of the Blaugrana’s second most-capped player. Cronyism may have played a part in Xavi’s hiring – he was a favourite of Laporta’s during his first spell as president – however ‘La Computadora’ was also impressing at Al Sadd. Despite winning the title as a player in his second year in the Qatar Stars League, Xavi’s managerial performance was even stronger, securing a domestic treble last season. When his release clause was paid, Al Sadd were on a 36-game unbeaten run, boasting stats such as a 68.5% win rate across the Spaniards 89 matches and an average of 2.75 goals per game. For good reason expectations are high for the former midfielder’s return to the Catalan capital, and at very least it will be hard for him to do worse than his predecessor. Already not the most popular on his unveiling, Ronald Koeman had the worst win record at Barcelona in 20

ABOVE: Xavi has a very di erent responsibility now he’s the Catalans’ coach

RIGHT: Xavi reacts during his first press conference as Barcelona's Head Coach

LEFT: FC Barcelona's new head coach, Xavi Hernandez (R), poses with FC Barcelona's President, Joan Laporta, during his presentation at Camp Nou

NAME: Xavi Hernandez Creus BORN: January 25, 1984 (Terrassa, Spain) HT: 1.70m POSITION: Coach CLUB: Barcelona

CLUB STATS SEASON CLUB APPS GOALS 1997-98 Barca B 39 2 1998-99 Barca B 18 0 1998-99 Barcelona 26 2 1999-00 Barca B 4 1 1999-00 Barcelona 38 2 2000-01 Barcelona 36 2 2001-02 Barcelona 52 4 2002-03 Barcelona 44 3 2003-04 Barcelona 49 5 2004-05 Barcelona 45 3 2005-06 Barcelona 22 0 2006-07 Barcelona 54 6 2007-08 Barcelona 54 9 2008-09 Barcelona 54 10 2009-10 Barcelona 53 7 2010-11 Barcelona 50 5 2011-12 Barcelona 51 14 2012-13 Barcelona 48 7 2013-14 Barcelona 48 7 2014-15 Barcelona 44 2 2015-16 Al Sadd 30 3 2016-17 Al Sadd 32 10 2017-18 Al Sadd 28 7 2018-19 Al Sadd 27 5 TOTAL 945 113

COACHING STATS SEASON CLUB G W L D 2018-19 Al Sadd 7 4 2 1 2019-20 Al Sadd 35 20 9 6 2020-21 Al Sadd 40 30 5 5 2021-22 Al Sadd 9 8 0 1

years. The Dutch trainer also left Camp Nou with the unwanted standing as the second coach to lose his first three El Classicos, and the first since Pep Guardiola to not win La Liga in two times attempts. However, whilst Xavi is likely to better Koeman’s record – although he was unable to prevent Barca dropping out of the Champions League and into the Europa League – he may well be worried at the general downward trend that La Blaugrana are experiencing. Koeman was not the first to struggle at the helm, with previous manager Quique Setién leaving having overseen the club’s first trophyless season in over a decade. Clearly the problems at Barcelona run deeper than the coach, with constant in-fighting at the board level. Former President Josep Maria Bartomeu had long since lost the respect of the squad when in March 2021 he was arrested over allegations that he had paid a communications firm to run negative stories against the club’s star players. After over six years which were characterised by poor transfer decisions and failure to manage the finances, Bartomeu was forced to step down – but at this stage the damage was already done. The perilous state of Barcelona’s finances were made all the more obvious over the summer with the Lionel Messi saga. That the club’s finances were so poor that they were unable to retain the services of their all-time top scorer is remarkable, even more so given the reports that their No 10 was willing to take a pay-cut. As a result Xavi will not only return to the Camp Nou without his superstar former teammate, but with reportedly a transfer budget of just €10m to spend in January. This could well prove a problem for the new man, who adopts a squad far from being fit for purpose. Koeman’s reliance on crosses saw Barcelona sign Luuk de Jong on loan, whilst the club brought in Martin Braithwaite

ABOVE: FC Barcelona's head coach Xavi Hernandez reacts during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between CA Osasuna and FC Barcelona

BELOW: Some of the players Xavi is now in charge of were his teammates just a few years ago

TOP RIGHT: Xavi lifting the Champions League Trophy while playing with Barcelona in 2015 Xavi Hernandez is by no means the first ex-player to return to coach the club, with the trend becoming all the more popular in recent years. Greg Murray assesses some of the latest examples.

Without a doubt the most successful recent example of legendary player thriving as a coach at their old club is Zinedine Zidane’s first spell at Real Madrid. The French midfielder had been acting as the manager of the youth team when called upon to take over from the departing Rafael Benítez. Zizou’s reign only lasted two and a half seasons before a reported falling out with Florentino Pérez but what he achieved in that time was legendary. Los Merengues secured an unprecedented three consecutive Champions League victories, not to mention a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España trophy – not a bad haul for his first proper job as manager! Unfortunately the transition from player to manager rarely goes this smoothly. Over the past two years Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all been sacked by the team at which they enjoyed huge success as players. The latter held out nearly twice as long as his contemporaries, presiding over 168 games for Manchester United, but was ultimately shown up against the more experienced coaches in the Premier League. At the top there is clearly no room for sentiment, with teams such as United, Chelsea, Juventus and Real Madrid acting ruthlessly when results were not going their way. However, in some circumstances ex-players are a orded the opportunity to develop themselves as coaches. Arsenal are currently undergoing a transitional period, and despite finishing outside the top-six for the past three years, Mikel Arteta has been trusted at the helm. Whether this pays o remains to be seen, however, with football at its most reactionary, whilst former players may get managerial jobs thanks to their reputation, it no-longer a ords them any leeway once they are in the hot-seat.