Barca Athletic boss Rafael Marquez has been backed by Joan Laporta in pushing to succeed Xavi Hernandez.
‘UFABET‘ reported on Wednesday that Barcelona president Joan Laporta is ready to support Barca Athletic boss Rafael Marquez to become the team’s coach. Azulgrana succeeded Xavi Hernandez this summer.
Defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-4 at home and being eliminate from the Champions League round of 8 with a total score of 4-6, it also affect the club’s financial problems. Including missing out on participating in the new FIFA Club World Cup tournament, it may cause Xavi to decide to leave the club without hesitation after the end of this season.
Xavi announced his retirement as Barcelona coach at the end of this season at the end of January. But it is believe the 44-year-old may change his mind about staying on if the Azulgrana reach the Champions League semi-finals. But with the Catalan giants eliminated in the round of eight, it is unlikely he will reverse his decision.
Because of this, Barcelona must seriously look for a new trainer again. Before it was report that Laporta, as club president, supported Marquez, the 45-year-old trainer of Barca Athletic, to step up and take over from Xavi.
Laporta believes Barcelona’s trainers need to have worked with the club’s youth teams like Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique Martinez before him, but Xavi Didn’t pass that route after starting his coaching career with Al-Sadd before returning to the club.
Barcelona are quite satisfy with Marquez’s performance at the helm of Barca Athletic, and the 45-year-old coach has also helped develop young players for the first team, including Pao Gubarsi, Ektor Fort, Marc Giou, Marc Casado or Mikhail Fai, etc.