Barcelona has 'psychological issue' not 'football one', believes Xavi
Dec 12, 2021
Barcelona [Spain], December 12 : FC Barcelona head coach Xavi believes that his side has a 'psychological issue' and further admitted that players in his team lack courage.
Xavi who replaced Ronald Koeman at the Camp Nou in November has managed to deliver two wins and a draw in his first three games. However, Barca then suffered a 1-0 loss to Real Betis and exited the Champions League after a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.
After such heavy losses, the manager was left questioning the collective mental strength within his dressing room. "It is a psychological issue rather than a football one," the Spaniard told a press conference, as per goal.com.
"They have to believe it and that is my job. We are encouraging them to dare and be brave. At Barcelona it's not worth playing 6/10 or 7/10. You have to aim for excellence. This is what is missing. Courage, aiming high and not low because that is not what Barcelona do. Being brave and understanding the game, we are not that far from what we want," Xavi added.
The Champions League exit was historical low for Barca as it was for the fourth time that the Catalan-based side has been knocked out from a CL group stage. And this was for the first time since 2000/01 when they played the UEFA Cup.
Barcelona entered the contest against Bayern battling Benfica for the second qualifying spot in Group E, however, Bayern Munich had to break no sweat in order to defeat the La Liga side.
