Barcelona presented Xavi Hernandez as their new head coach in front of thousands of fans at the Nou Camp today.
The 41-year-old Barca great signed his contract, which runs until 2024, on the pitch alongside club president Joan Laporta. "It's a historical day for Barcelona. Welcome, Xavi," an emotional Laporta told the supporters during the ceremony where the ex-midfielder was accompanied by his family.
"Thank you all. I don't want to get emotional but I am, I feel goosebumps," Xavi told the fans. "This is the biggest club in the world and I'm going to work hard to reach your expectations. Barcelona can't accept a draw or a defeat. We have to win all the games."
Xavi joined after Barca paid his release clause with Qatari club Al Sadd. He will replace the sacked Ronald Koeman. "I came prepared. My DNA didn't change. We need to take charge, have the ball, create opportunities, be intense. We have a mission to rescue many things that were lost," Xavi said.
Struggling Barca are ninth in La Liga, 11 points adrift of leaders Real Sociedad and 10 behind arch-rivals Real Madrid. After the presentation Xavi talked about how discipline will be a major factor in his project as Barcelona manager.
"We have to start with new rules that are going to be strict. It's not a matter of being tough, it's about having norms," he said. "When we had norms in the locker room things were good, when we didn't, it went bad. So, we need to have order. Being professionals. It's a medium to long-term project but we'll need to work really hard to find the results. The expectation and the demand will be the highest. No excuses will be made or accepted."
During the presentation, Laporta also set some goals for Xavi to achieve this season, now that he is officially in charge. Barca are currently in ninth place in La Liga, but Laporta has made it clear that a fourth-place finish or above is required to ensure Champions League qualification.
“To qualify among the top 4 and advance to the round of 16 of the Champions League is necessary to continue to maintain our prestige,” said Laporta.“Not only do we have to qualify among the top 4, we have to compete.”
Barcelona couldn’t afford Xavi’s €5million release clause, and that meant they and Xavi paid towards the deal. It’s believed Xavi will get some of the money back if he fulfils promotional events in Qatar over the coming years.
However, Barca president Laporta refused to go into that level of detail during Xavi’s official presentation. He said: “The release with Al-Sadd? The club and Xavi have put their part in it and we have achieved the goal. This is the summary.”