There is no longer a dilemma, Xavi Hernandez has returned to Barcelona – this time in the role of the first squad manager. He took over the stumbling Catalan giant from the hands of Ronald Koeman and signed a contract until the summer of 2024. He will make his debut after the international break, against local rivals Espanyol.He said goodbye to Al Sadd today, in tears – he led the Qatari team for previous two years with great success. It was expected that the official confirmation from the Camp Nou would follow on Monday, but it seems that Al Sadd could not wait for Barcelona to announce the great news to the public. His official promotion is scheduled for the first day of next week, during which he will address the public for the first time as a Blaugrana coach.Sat, 18.15: (3.80) CELTA (3.50) BARCELONA (2.10)The turbulent period is behind the club from Catalonia. Barça are going through difficult moments, struggling with financial problems, which have led to disappointing results on the pitch. The club was forced to part with Lionel Messi last summer, they parted ways with several other first team players, in order to save some money and put their economic revival in motion.The idea of president Joan Laporta is to focus on young players and offspring of the famous Barca football school La Masia and find new stars among them, as they should eventually bring the club back on track of success. The project was entrusted to Koeman, but he was fired after a series of bad results.An interesting piece of trivia – Barcelona as a club seem to have the tendency to announce massive news related to the club – around midnight or late after. The Dutch manager was officially let go close to 2 AM EAT while the information that Xavi will be the new head coach saw the ‘light of day’ close to 4 AM EAT. Additionally, parting ways with Luis Suarez was published also somewhere around two in the morning.The agony continues: Barca’s flop Dembele returns from injury only to be sidelined again after 25 minutes of footballXavi is one of the most successful footballers in the history of Spanish football and Barcelona. He spent 24 years at the Camp Nou, before leaving to Qatar to end his career as a player. He has 133 appearances in the national team (13 goals), two EURO titles and one of the World champions. He wore the Blaugrana shirt 767 times, scoring 85 goals. With his beloved club, he won eight titles in La Liga, four Champions League trophies, three Copa del Rei titles and numerous others.In the Al Sadd shirt, he waved goodbye to his career as a footballer on the pitch and immediately went from player to manager. In his coaching career, he won as many as seven trophies already, establishing a likable and efficient style of play in Al Sadd. Barcelona’s model was seen his managing philosophy from the start, so it was only a matter of time before he returned home. And that moment finally came.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Barça are expected to pay some money in the name of Xavi’s deal with Al Sadd, although there are indications that the two clubs could reach a slightly different agreement. Details will be better known at the official promotion on Monday.
