Giving Xavi his due. Xavi Hernández makes his debut today in charge of a national team, with a difficult first test against Germany.
His task looks more broadly complicated at the helm of a side whose past has contained more stars than titles and whose present is difficult: no player is among the 30 Balón de Oro nominees. Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal, however, are on that list. Both Barcelona academy products made their debuts under Xavi, while the intervention of the Hernández family prevented moves to City and PSG respectively.
At 15, Cubarsí did not see a future for himself at Barcelona. Unable to sign a professional contract at that point, he was considering joining Girona, linked to the City Group, for two years before moving on to Manchester. A call from Óscar Hernández changed his mind. He was promised a good professional contract at 16 and a place in the first-team pre-season group; those commitments were honoured, changing the course of his career.
Lamine Yamal’s case was resolved even more quickly. Xavi handed him his debut at 15 to show the player and his agent at the time, Iván de la Peña, that he was part of the first-team plans, while also stopping a move to Paris.
According to Xavi, in the weeks before he left Barcelona, Alejandro Echevarría gathered Raphinha, Pedri and Araujo and told them that the coach wanted to sell them. Xavi, however, never wanted them to leave. The only departure he requested, at Laporta’s home, concerned Lewandowski.
His persistence had also led to the discovery of Fermín, another key player in the current Barcelona side who could have been lost to the club. Several months after his departure, as he begins a new phase described as exciting, his name and reputation as a Barcelona icon continue to be targeted by attempts to tarnish them.
Source : Mundo Deportivo
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