Soccer

Reports surfacing on candidates to replace Xavi at Barcelona

Xavi is out at the end of the season at Barcelona and reports in Spain have Andrea Pirlo and Marcelo Gallardo as possible candidates.

Xavi, coach of Barcelona
Ā© David Ramos/Getty ImagesXavi, coach of Barcelona

Come June it’s the end of the line for Xavi as Barcelona coach, the former midfielder helped right the ship when under Ronald Koeman things went off the rails.

Under Xavi’s watch Barcelona began to look somewhat like their former selves with winning a league and then a Spanish Super Cup. Xavi has a respectable 76-26-21 record, but as of today sits fourth in LaLiga and while alive in the UEFA Champions League, the club looks in need of new ideas.

TNT Sports in Argentina are reporting that with Xavi announcing that he will leave at the end of the season, Joan Laporta is looking at an Italian and Argentine coach to step in.

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Andrea Pirlo

Andrea Pirlo in action.

Andrea Pirlo in action.

Currently with Sampdoria, Andrea Pirlo is in Serie B and has not really done much with an 8-10-4 record and the club sitting in 14th. Pirlo has a contract until June of 2025 with Sampdoria.

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As a manager Pirlo won two domestic cups with Juventus, his first coaching job and then moved to Turkey to coach Fatih Karagümrük S.K. for only one season.

Marcelo Gallardo

Marcelo Gallardo

Marcelo Gallardo

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The current Al-Ittihad manager started off well but hit a bump in the road with a losing streak and issues with star player Karim Benzema. Gallardo is rumored to even be on the outs if he can’t fix his situation with the club’s French star.

El MuƱeco has a contract with the SPL club until June of 2025, and before his arrival Gallardo positioned himself as the best manager in River Plate’s long and illustrious history, winning 14 championships. Gallardo also won a Uruguayan league title with Nacional his first coaching job.

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