BARCELONA
Xavi Hernández goes crazy at Barcelona players: “I want you to run like pigs!”
The Catalan coach exploded at his players during half-time in the LaLiga game against Almería, which Barça eventually won 3-2.
Barcelona manager Xavi is said to have gone crazy at half-time during the LaLiga game against Almería, which the blaugrana ended up winning 3-2 to maintain their push for the top two. Ahead of the match day 19 fixture, Almería had only managed 5 points from 17 and were rock-bottom of the table. At half-time, however, the two sides went into the dressing rooms level.
Rarely has Xavi Hernández been so upset as he was during halftime. The image that the team put out on the Montjuïc pitch had been pathetic, with the bottom side in the division competing against and putting pressure on Barcelona. The stands were whistling, the box was disgruntled and those around the club sharpening their knives. Xavi, well aware that it was impossible to play with less intensity, decided to leave out any good words and blessings, moving directly to an angry outburst.
‘I want you to run like pigs!’
His entrance to the dressing room foreshadowed the worst. Racing in, he kicked and punched everything in his path. The manager picked up the tactics board, put it in front of him and started banging on it while shouting: “This can’t happen! This can’t happen!”. The rant did not stop there: As he ripped his jersey - breaking several seams - the coach accused his team of lacking soul, spirit and ambition. The sheer number and range of expletives left it clear that he would not allow for one more minute of relaxation on the pitch.
“I want you to run like pigs,” said Xavi, visibly upset by the team’s performance. And on this occasion he had no qualms about pointing out the recipients of his insults. As Mundo Deportivo reported and AS later confirmed, Robert Lewandowski was one of the players who received the harshest words. “Let’s see if you start running for once, for f*** sake!” the coach screamed.
Xavi, unimpressed, hooked two players at half-time
The fight did not end there. Xavi wanted to keep going, showing clearly to his team that if they needed a good telling-off, they were going to get it. In fact, João Félix also had to endure the tension of the moment, to the point of seeing how the coach publicly (albeit not literally) pointed the finger at him, leaving him out of the game in the second half. The Portuguese reluctantly accepted this decision, demonstrating the reputation that comes with him as a somewhat complicated and fractious player. Quite the opposite of Andreas Christensen, who accepted the change with professionalism.
The team’s reaction in the second half showed the effectiveness of Xavi’s behaviour at half-time. It was his most tense and angry fifteen minutes in the dressing room since he has been in charge of FC Barcelona, but, as it turned out, one of the most fruitful.