Midfield legend Xavi reveals stories from earlier Barca times. He persuaded Coach Pep Guardiola to reconsider a decision. That resulted in a triple win.
Even world coaches like Pep Guardiola have been persuaded by influential players to reconsider a squad decision.
In fact, Xavi’s dedication to one of his team-mates in the summer of 2008 was instrumental in FC Barcelona’s triple win in 2009.
In an Instagram live chat with former striker Samuel Eto’o, the two Barca legends revealed the story of how Xavi secured Eto’o’s stay with Barca. According to the story, Guardiola had already decided to weed out the striker shortly after the start of his tenure as head coach. But things changed: Eto’o stayed and played a strong season.
Xavi: “We had to convince Guardiola
“Fortunately you stayed,” says Xavi to his former teammate, who now coaches the Qatar club Al-Sadd.
Eto’o responds to his buddy from successful times: “Fortunately you asked him (Pep Guardiola, editor’s note) if I could stay. Thanks for that.”
The Cameroonian’s stay paid off for the Catalans. The now 39-year-old scored 36 goals in three competitions during the 2008/2009 season. “We had to convince Pep to let you stay. You were the goal scorer for our team,” says Xavi, summing up: “In the end, cohesion and common sense prevailed.
Ibrahimovic replaces Eto’o
However, the compromise reached on the role of Eto’o in the star ensemble did not last long.
In the summer of 2009 Barca had him move to Inter Milan after 199 games and 130 goals for the Catalans. In return, Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the reigning triple winner – which in retrospect turned out to be a major misunderstanding between the proud Swede and Pep Guardiola.