Barcelona’s new Amazon series shows ‘challenges’ set by Xavi ahead of his first-game in charge

Footage from Barcelona’s new Amazon Prime documentary has revealed the strange set of ‘challenges’ that manager Xavi set his first-team squad.

The new series – after showcasing the emotional departure of Lionel Messi – took focus on Xavi’s return to the club as manager in November last year and offered fans some unique insights.

The Spaniard created a set of ‘challenges’ for his side to complete in matches but, as the episode unravels, it becomes clear that Xavi had to quickly adjust expectations for his team after a string of poor results.

Barcelona’s new Amazon Prime series has revealed some insights to last year’s campaign

Current boss Xavi set his team ‘challenges’ during his first team-talk with the first-team

Ahead of his first match in charge – a grudge match with local rivals Espanyol – Xavi stands in-front of the Barcelona squad before listing a set of tasks for the match.  

‘In every match, we, as a team, and me as a coach, will face challenges – besides the three points, evidently. I think it’s positive and extremely motivational for you,’ he said.

‘Look. For the Christmas Holiday, there’s a five day break. Okay? If we win today, you get one more day, the 27th. You can go to Disney. You can rest, be with your families, lovers, whatever, okay?

‘Second challenge. If we score two goals before minute 30, I’ll buy you dinner wherever you want, at Ferran, Salvaje… I don’t know! I haven’t been in Barcelona these past six years.’

Though his second challenge ended in failure, the Catalan side kick-started Xavi’s tenure in charge with a 1-0 win over their rivals thanks to a Memphis Depay strike. 

Xavi insisted his side would get an extra day’s break across the Christmas Holidays with a win

Memphis Depay’s strike ensured Xavi began his tenure as Barcelona manager with a victory

Spanish full-back Jordi Alba explained that it was a concept that not many of the players had undertaken before – even those who played with Xavi at Barcelona.

‘When he came, he said there’d be challenges and honestly we didn’t really know what he meant,’ the veteran defender explained to Amazon Prime.

Alba’s comments rang true as the LaLiga giants began enduring a difficult spell both domestically and in their European campaigns.

Footage showed the dismay amongst players and staff after their Champions League group stage elimination and, quickly, Xavi amended the challenges set to his team.

Full-back Jordi Alba explained he was thrown off by the demands of Xavi’s ‘challenges’

The Catalan club endured a terrible run that saw them dumped out of the Champions League

Speaking to his side a month after their win over Espanyol – and ahead of a clash with Elche – Xavi informs his team that the challenges were taken ‘down a peg’.

‘We’re in a s****y situation,’ Xavi explained. ‘It’s s****y, guys! Look, we took the challenge down a peg. Okay? It’s just winning now. Win and I’ll pay for whatever you want!’

Moments later, it cuts to a shot of Xavi talking to the camera, as he says: ‘At the start it was “scoring the first goal” and the opponent did it. “Score before minute 20” and we didn’t get it. In the end, I told them “look, the challenge is to win, just win”.’

Evidently, the words of Xavi rang true in the minds of his players as they cruised to a 3-2 win over Elche thanks to a thumping strike from rising talent Gavi.  

The former player was forced to reduce his expectations after Barcelona struggled to win

Youngster Gavi scored one of Barcelona’s goal during their crucial 3-2 win over Elche last year

Elsewhere in the series, footage revealed the reaction from team-mates after they discovered Lionel Messi was leaving the club in 2021. 

Last summer, the Argentina forward was forced to walk away from the Camp Nou after his contract came to an end and he was unable to renew due to economic and structural obstacles.

It was a stunning moment as the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner left the club to join PSG, and Barcelona’s new series shows the shocked reaction from team-mates after they found out the news.

Footage showed the Argentina superstar in tears during his departing ceremony last summer