Barcelona ‘volcano would have erupted’ without Xavi in charge, says Thierry Henry

Former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has backed Xavi and says the club would be in a worse situation without the midfielder in charge.

Xavi is in the spotlight after Barca failed to qualify from the group stages of the Champions League in midweek for the second season in a row.

Henry says Xavi has a lot on his plate being Barcelona boss but thinks things would be a lot worse if the club legend were not at the helm.

“Look at the end of the day result matters, we’ve seen it with Steven Gerrard. The problem at Barcelona is that you don’t have time,” he said.

“But yeah, let me tell you if it was another coach right now at Barcelona, dealing with what’s happening, it would have been a volcano even more than what it is... the volcano would have erupted. But because it’s Xavi, it’s kind of okay.”

“They are second in the league. We all know [Robert] Lewandowski should have scored at Bayern but it’s not his [Xavi] fault that Lewandowski missed three chances and it’s not his fault if they didn’t call the penalty on [Denzel] Dumfries, but you’re the coach at Barcelona and you’re going to be judged.

“Barça have gambled on the Champions League and they need that money because of what they did in the summer.”

Source | CBS Sports

An early Champions League exit will prove costly for Barca both on and off the pitch, but Xavi must now rouse his troops for Saturday’s trip to Valencia.

The Catalans are only three points behind Real Madrid in La Liga and can’t afford to fall further behind if they are to challenge for the title.