Coach Xavi Hernandez has already won the Barcelona dressing around

SPORT CONFIDENTIAL

Coach Xavi Hernandez has already won the Barcelona dressing around

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Xavi's quickly enchanted the Barça players who have been happy with his first two weeks

The image of Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez giving tactical instructions to Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique on the sidelines at Camp Nou during Saturday's derby win over Espanyol revealed the new dynamic at the club.

During his two public appearances, Xavi has referred to the squad as "a family," which has a lot to do with his relationship with the veterans in the dressing room. "There's a friendship between us that will be a plus," he said of his relationship with the dressing room.

"Even if you don't want to, for a person that you know, that you love, I am sure you will do a little more than for someone you don't have quite as strong a relationship with," says a source close to the Barça boad.

And that's something Xavi wants to exploit to win around a dressing room with a strange configuration, with a huge presence of players under 23 or over 30 but not many in their peak years.

The same language

Xavi has started well at Barcelona. Not just with the fans but also with the players because many see his return as Barça's return to their roots and a bet on the academy again. "He speaks our language and we've had an understanding from day one," says another source in the dressing room.

The new coach has met with the majority of the players, both collectively and individually. As he knows them well, the meetings have got straight to the point.

"There won't be much difference between what he says inside to what he says outside," sources say.

Order, discipline, common sense and demands.

"It's nothing from another world, things that we have found throughout our careers and that we won't have problems applying," the sources add.

The details will help turn around the situation at the club that has deteriorated throughout recent years and under many different coaches.

"Because of how he speaks, so naturally, and because of how he explains what he wants to us, instructions that we have sucked in for a long time [at the club], we believe in him," they say.

Another aspect Xavi has worked on is bringing back the pride for the Barça badge. In this sense, Dani Alves' initial speech upon his arrival was also important. They say the young players were enchanted by what he said and how he transmitted it.

The message wasn't lost. The next day, the team had the day off but 17 players went to the training ground voluntarily to work out.

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