AK: The winning hand Xavi has to play

Spring 2022. Xavi is about to end his first season on the Barça bench. He had landed in an emergency in November with nothing to play for in truth. He came up against a squad with myriad shortcomings. He was able to 'make up' some of them in the winter transfer window, but he needed much more to make the team competitive again. Capable of fighting for everything. And, for that, the coach from Terrassa is aware that he needs a powerful profile at the back. Young, physically powerful. A leader. And he focused his efforts and energies on convincing Jules Koundé to be that man.

The Frenchman, who was 23 at the time, was coming into his own. And the European giants had their eyes on him. Especially Chelsea, who practically took his signing for granted. More financial muscle than Barca, and Tuchel had already spoken to Jules. But Xavi set himself a challenge. "I will make you and Ronald the best centre-backs in the world". Between that and Mateu Alemany's tenacity, they managed to turn the tables. It helped that Chelsea's German coach had in mind to place him at full-back. Jules was not attracted by the idea. 

All in all, Barça made a very significant investment in a player who was to become one of the leaders at the back for the present and the future. Forming a fearsome tandem with Araujo. Two rocks, two profiles of modern central defenders, but moulded to be able to bring the ball out cleanly.

They were joined by a strategic addition in which the club made a luxury move. We are talking about Andreas Christensen, who landed on a free agent after a final stretch of the season at Chelsea that left some question marks. But he has ended up being a major success. Whenever he plays, he always performs remarkably well. He's always on the ball. He does not make mistakes. In fact, it is very hard to try to count his failures on more than one hand. A good challenge for anyone who wants to dare to do so, by the way.

    

Yet the fact is that Xavi has found his trump card in the 'AK'. This summer there were a few days of uncertainty in Barcelona with that conversation between Koundé and Xavi. The Frenchman, after playing a good part of last season at full-back, went to his coach and told him that he wanted to be a centre-back. Xavi agreed with him that this would be the case. And he managed to tie down a TOP full-back so that there would be no cracks on the right. 

The relationship between Ronald and Jules is magnificent. They understand each other on the pitch, they admire each other. There is a 'feeling', they sit close in the dressing room. The Uruguayan, as one of the captains, integrates everyone in the dressing room. Jules is more shy, but on the pitch he lets loose. He unlocks his pot of essences. At Do Dragao, especially in the second half, we experienced perhaps the peak, the zenith of what this partnership should be. 

Xavi has not hidden the fact that with him at the helm Araujo is one of the players who has grown the most. It's a source of pride for him to see how he has been assimilating the team's automatisms. Despite not being brought up in La Masia, he has improved immensely in terms of neatness when it comes to bringing the ball out. Also in his long movements. It is probably the position that Xavi has the best cover. Christensen is a sure thing. He will be a starter at Los Cármenes again on Sunday. And he has been a protagonist. Always responding.

Perhaps it can be seen as a bit of a disadvantage when you bet on two attacking full-backs like Cancelo and Balde. The team is more exposed at the back and the power of 'AK' there allows you to correct and cover spaces more effectively. But there are scenarios for everything. And scripts, like the one the other day at Do Dragao, that don't work out the way you expect them to. 

Then there is another important issue. With Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Raphinha and Lewandowski all out, Barça need more solidity and consistency than ever. You are without some of your great sources of talent and even more in dire need of strengthening at the back. That was one of the keys to last season's success. A league built on solvency and reliability. And in times of urgency, it is a good guarantee to have a wall at the back.  

The game is long and will go through arduous and difficult phases, but Xavi knows what his winning hand is to take the pot.