Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has publicly thrown his support behind Xavi Hernandez, who looks set to take charge of Barcelona after Ronald Koeman’s sacking on Wednesday night.
The current Manchester City boss, who was head coach of Barcelona between 2008-2012 season, discussed the possibility of Xavi being appointed at his former club
“Xavi, if it happens, I don’t have any doubts he’s ready to do the job,” Pep Guardiola said during Friday’s pre-match press conference. “He knows the environment, which is so important.
“He knows the game, he has passion. He has more experience now than I had when I took over. Ronald Koeman knows and Sergi Barjuan, who is currently interim boss knows, and Xavi and I know, that success depends on the recruitment and the players.
“People forget – we are responsible, but our influence is more minimal than people believe. The success I had was because of the quality of the players.
“Xavi, of course, is really good. If Xavi is the next manager, I wish him all the best, and hopefully, step by step the team can come back.”
When asked about Koeman’s dismissal, Guardiola was supportive of the Dutchman, wishing him the best.
“Ronald and I know exactly that we depend and live and expect and we are there for the results. Nobody can survive without results, no Koeman, no Pep,” he said.
“He’s a friend of mine, I wish him the best and will see him soon and I’m sure he did good things for the young players in the academy. Everybody knows it, doesn’t matter what you do it depends on the job.”
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