The past few matches have seen pressure rise on FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez, with the team not performing to its full potential.
The Blaugrana have lost two of their previous four games – against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk, while their two wins versus Real Sociedad and Deportivo Alaves have been greatly unconvincing.
As a result, pressure has been mounting on Xavi, with Barça’s style as well as performances under the club legend being questioned.
Rafa Marquez the Plan B
Even though Xavi has the full backing of the Barcelona board, the club have a fallback in place in case things do not go as per plans.
As such, journalist Jose Alvarez is reporting that the Catalans see Barça Atletic manager Rafa Marquez as Plan B in the scenario that Xavi does not continue as the first-team head coach.
Marquez, 44, spent seven years at Barcelona as a footballer between 2003 and 2010 and has an intimate knowledge of how the club operates.
It was one of the reasons why the former Mexican defender was brought in as the manager of Barça Atletic last season.
Marquez is gaining recognition within the club for the mastery he has shown since taking over the team a year and a half ago. He led Barça Atletic to promotion playoffs last season and is doing so again this term.
Marquez has shown that he has a bright future as a coach and it appears that the club administration is impressed by what he has done, so much so that he is now seen as a candidate to take over from Xavi.
Xavi’s job not under threat
While Barcelona may be scoping out possible candidates to succeed Xavi, it must be noted that the former midfielder’s job is not under threat at this point.
The 43-year-old signed a new contract with Barça only recently and has the full backing of the club, as was affirmed by president Joan Laporta earlier this week.
“I want to make it very clear, as Deco and the directors on my board have done, that we are totally behind our coach and that we are proud to have Xavi as our coach because of his professional and human qualities,” Laporta said.