Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez came in for heavy criticism after their win against Alaves, not just for their performance, but as much for his comments towards the press.
Xavi explained that the heavy criticism from the media was affecting their performances, an excuse few people bought, and drew further criticism towards himself, but it was not without reason. As reported by Carrusel Deportivo two members of the Barcelona staff deleted their social media in order to avoid reading criticism.
⚠️ "A Xavi no se le ha criticado ni mucho menos como a otros entrenadores"
📲❌ "Hay dos personas del staff que esta semana se han borrado sus RRSS"
🔴🔵"Oriol Romeo está en una crisis de confianza; a Raphinha le afectan las críticas"
ℹ️ Informa Sique Rodríguez pic.twitter.com/Eom4utNdjI
— Carrusel Deportivo (@carrusel) November 12, 2023
Meanwhile Oriol Romeu was described as going through ‘a crisis of confidence’, which would make sense following his drop off in form, and the critics that have come with it. Brazilian winger Raphinha has also struggled to make the impact he was supposed to, and supposedly has been affected by his media assessment. The example of Ferran Torres last season is also given as someone who struggled to come through a difficult moment because of his mental strength.
Regardless of whether it is affecting his players or not, that is not necessarily something that should either have been admitted or used as an excuse. Xavi’s job is to ensure that his players can perform despite the pressure.
