Xavi pre-match press conference before Barcelona - Almería in LaLiga

Xavi walked into the press conference room at Barcelona’s training ground on one leg; with the tightrope swaying wildly due to the lateral gusts of 90mph, a rainfall of poison arrows sprang from handcrafted bows and famished lion-dragon hybrid creatures snapped incessantly at his heels.

At least that’s what it felt like. The pressure on the Barcelona boss is back: a loss to Girona knocked the side for six and that was before Antwerp beat them and Valencia got a point at home against the, remember, LaLiga holders. Now, it is time for Almería, who are bottom of the LaLiga table with just 5 points from 17 games, and Xavi’s perfect opportunity to get things back on track.

“We’re playing good football again”, he began when asked how things are going, “but we need to win. We’re playing at home, we need to play a complete game, that’s what we’re missing.”

‘We can’t put all the pressure on Vitor Roque’

Given it’s almost Christmas, and given that the president of the club was only speaking about it yesterday, we only had to wait until question two for the topic of transfers to be raised: “We always want to reinforce the squad, in summer or winter. We want to look for the pieces that we don’t have. With the injury to Gavi (ACL), we need a midfielder, but finding someone in the market who is like Gavi is tough. We all work together, with Laporta and Gavi to improve the squad.”

After admitting to wanting a signing and, in record time, giving everyone the headline they wanted, attention turned to Vitor Roque, a player who is set to arrive at the club “after the holidays” from the Brazilian first division: “we can’t put all the pressure on a kid”, Xavi warned, “just like we did with Lamine Yamal. We have to work as a team and make the difference in the boxes. Things have gone well in the Champions League, but being 9 points behind Girona is due to a lack of efficiency. As of tomorrow we have to get back on track with the situation in LaLiga. It’s not easy but it’s doable.”

“He’s very up for it”, Xavi added, “he’s a great signing, he can bring a lot. So many positive things come into my head. He gives us hope. He works hard, can score goals, he moves into space. We’ll help him to adapt as quickly as possible.”

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Xavi on ‘concentration, aggressiveness and marking’ mistakes

Xavi, upon mentioning the Champions League, was asked to give his thoughts on Napoli, Barcelona’s opponents in the Round of 16: “They’re the reigning champions of Italy”, he said, “since Maradona’s time they hadn’t won the league. They are in the same situation as us: their coach from last season has gone and now Mazzarri is there, who is more defensive. There are still two months to go, but we want to get to the quarter-finals.”

Back on the squad and its, as Xavi put it, “efficiency”, the coach was asked about Robert Lewandowski, a player who has come under a lot of criticism for precisely the thing mentioned by the coach. Last season he was LaLiga’s top scorer with 21 but this year he has just 8 goals from an xG of almost 11. “He’s not an exception”, the coach was quick to quip, “it happens with Robert [Lewandowski], João [Félix], Raphinha, it’s everyone’s issue, as well as my own. We have 9 points less than last season and that means we’ve not done things correctly. It’s a lack of effciency and decisiveness in the boxes. We’ve improved our play, but not in the boxes.”

“We have mistakes in terms of concentration, aggressiveness and marking. Situations that we had under control last year are getting away from us now. We have to improve defensively or the league will get away from us”.

‘We understand the fans, we have failed them’

Recent home games at Barcelona have allowed pundits and fans to diagnose just how the fanbase are taking the current situation. Against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona recorded their lowest attendance of the season, with just 34,568 from a possible 50,000 fans making the trip up to Montjuïc. “We understand the fans”, said the coach, “we have failed them. Although the gap is large, we can’t walk it. We will get our chance. If we keep disappointing, it will become more complicated. But I think we will compete for all the trophies.”

The news that a change in the way fans experience VAR came into being ahead of the press conference, with the Spanish football Federation and LaLiga agreeing to “publish the images and audio of the conversations between the on-pitch referee and the VAR referee when there is a replay of the action on the pitch-side monitor, once the day’s game have finished.”

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‘Sometimes it’s unappreciated and unpleasant being Barça boss’

Regarding the news, Xavi was positively ecstatic. “I’m delighted”, he beamed, “[it is good to] humanise the referees and they explain and give a reason for why they blow the whistle or interpret something... it’s fantastic that they’re making the conversations public. We have to humanise referees. It’s great news for world football. I’m very happy. We have to help referees.” I think that’s clear, then.

When asked about the job as a whole and how it tires him, Xavi laughed at the suggestion the role of Barça head coach makes one lose their hair. “I’m happy with the way I work, with the staff”, he said, “I’m very stubborn. I don’t like it when we lose or when the things we train don’t come off. But I’m positive and hopeful. I think we can have a good season. Sometimes it’s unappreciated or even unpleasant being Barcelona boss. Now the blame falls directly on myself. But this is how it is if you want to be a top coach. I believe a lot in what we’re doing.”

Barcelona play Almería on Wednesday, December 20, with kick-off at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.