The seven members of Xavi's coaching staff at Barcelona

One of the things that Xavi has absolutely clear in his mind is that the days when the coach performed all of the tasks on his own are long over. Xavi knows he needs to be almost like a general director, guiding a modern team of staff who each know their role and have the experience to carry it out. Barça haven't just signed a new coach, they have signed a team of coaching experts who Xavi has total faith in and who have accompanied him since his career in management began.

When he met up with Víctor Font to draw up a work plan, Xavi mapped out a highly detailed strategy that ran from the first team to the youth categories and even included the club's medical department. Laporta will not give him control over such a wide expanse of the organisation, but he has agreed to the incorporation of at least seven collaborators who will form Xavi's technical team.

Xavi's coaching staff

Óscar Hernández. Xavi's brother and the person he always turns to for advice. He prefers to remain in the background, he has excellent organisational skills and is a tireless worker. During his playing days, he was a defensive midfielder for several clubs in the Second Division B and Third Division. In Qatar, he started out working at the Aspire Academy. He is Xavi's right-hand man.

Sergio Alegre. Essential for Xavi. He worked in Barça's youth teams and moved to Qatar to be Xavi's assistent at Al Sadd, a role he has had for the past two years.

Iván Torres. Fitness trainer who has known Xavi since they were kids. He is also from Terrassa and has worked in numerous countries around the world, including exotic locations such as Bahrein to top level competitions like the Premier League, where he has a training position at Leeds United. Apart from being a qualified fitness trainer, he is also a licensed coach. He has always been with Xavi, who considers him a vital member of his team.

David Prats. Analyst who played with Xavi at youth level at Barça is what was known as the Troya Generation alongside Lobo and García. He was in charge of Al Sadd's Under-23 team.

Sergio García. He was one of the most promising young players in La Masia but an injury hampered his career. Now he works as Xavi's analyst, specialising in dead-ball moves and compiling data on rival teams.

Toni Lobo. The third analyst, who also coincided with Xavi in Barcelona's youth categories. He is in charge of recording training sessions and games for in-depth analysis afterwards. He has experience with Second Division B clubs in Catalunya.

Carlos Noguera. Physiotherapist who has Xavi's complete trust. The coach specialises in recovery because he has comprehensive knowledge of sports injuries. Noguera moved to Qatar initially to work with the national team, but was poached by Xavi a couple of years ago to join him at Al Sadd.