The Xavi statistic that should have Barcelona fans worried
FT Desk
- Updated: 14 Aug 2022 11:36 BST
- 3 min read
Xavi Hernandez is a Barcelona legend and he appears to have the fans onside, but there is a statistic that should worry even the most ardent supporter.
Barcelona got their new season underway on Saturday, with all but Jules Kounde registered among their new signings, and Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha handed first league starts.
Unfortunately for Barca, pre-game was more fun than post. Barca dominated possession but only had six shots to show for it. Lewandowski only mustered one attempt on target and it ended goalless at Camp Nou.
Lewandowski's Barcelona debut did not go as planned 😔 pic.twitter.com/fFrS4X39qM
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 14, 2022
More worrying for Xavi is the fact that he now has the lowest winning percentage of any Barca coach over the last 20 years according to La Liga statistician Fran Martinez.
Xavi - who won 25 major honours as a Barca player between 1998 and 2015 - has only won 52.63 per cent of his games as manager, which is lower than each of Ronaldo Koeman (58.21%), Quique Setien (64%) and Ernesto Valverde (66.9%).
Pressure getting to Xavi?
Rayo may have employed some of the darker arts to tease out a share of the points at Camp Nou on Saturday, but Xavi seemed exasperated when asked about it.
"Time wasting is getting ridiculous," he said. "Football should have effective time. It's the only sport that doesn't have it. UEFA always defends fair play, don't they?"
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Xavi will be given time at Barcelona, in what is his first full season at the club. He has also had to steer them through one of the darkest times in their financial history, and is trying to keep a squad in transition upbeat and in the running for titles.
Kounde couldn't even be registered for Saturday, his injury masking the fact that he was a player too many as Barca look to balance the books.
Xavi's four honours as a manager have so far come with Al Sadd in Saudi Arabia. He deserves the chance to prove he can win more silverware in Catalonia, but the above stat won't be welcome reading at all.
