Xavi's obsession with ballboys and its impact
The coach wants the ball back on the pitch as soon as possible
With Xavi Hernandez arriving on Barcelona’s bench, many things are changing. The team is meeting ahead of home games in a hotel and going on a team bus, they are arriving an hour and a half before training and they are eating breakfast and lunch with their team-mates.
But the changes have been bigger still on the pitch, with a new high press and a lot of intensity. This Barcelona is enjoying the efforts of Gavi, Nico, Araujo and Co. They press the opponent and don’t let them breathe. One of the important aspects of this comes from the ball boys and girls.
As soon as the ball goes off they are under orders to instantly return one, not allowing more than a fraction of a second to pass. We saw this against Benfica, pressing them to return it as soon as possible, to allow Barcelona to maintain their frenetic rhythm and not allow the visitors to catch air. Every little counts.
