It has been a difficult time to be a Barcelona fan. After years of domination, the Catalans are experiencing their biggest crisis in recent memory. The crisis started a couple of years back and was further advanced by the departure of Lionel Messi this summer. However, teams as big as Barcelona do not fall that easily. After an abysmal start under Ronald Koeman, the acquisition of Xavi as the new head coach signals the turn of fortunes for Barcelona. Thus, here are three reasons why Xavi will bring Barcelona back to its glory days.

Xavi effect in Barcelona

1. Players really want to play under Xavi 

It would be smart to start by saying this: in no way can it be said that, under other coaches, Barca's players did not want to play. These are professional players, and they do their best regardless of who the coach is. However, it is evident that the current Barcelona squad is doing all the extra work they did not do under Koeman.

This is not so uncommon in the world of football. Zinedine Zidane and Thomas Tuchel got the best out of the Real Madrid and Chelsea, respectively, squads they were handed. Both took over in the middle of the season, without any additions, and won the Champions League. It would be somewhat crazy to say that Xavi will win the Champions League with this Barcelona squad. Still, it is worth mentioning that a sudden turn for the positive is not a rare occasion when a coach is changed.

Xavi's Barcelona is playing with more agency, as players are absolutely leaving it all on the field. Additionally, Xavi has made it clear that he wants to use every part of his squad. Infamously, Koeman had issues with certain players and simply did not feature them. When Xavi comes in and says outright that it will be different under his tutelage, the somewhat forgotten players will do everything to feature on the squad.

2. There is a clear idea on the pitch 

In all sports, not all bad teams are necessarily bad. There are teams such as Leeds United, under Marcelo Bielsa, which play a certain type of football. It does mean that, against stronger opposition, the team will sometimes just get battered, but at least they stuck to their idea of playing attacking, open football. Barcelona did not look like this … until Xavi came.

Under Koeman, it was not just that the play was bad. It was also the fact that there was no team identity and no idea of how the team would reach the opposition goal. As soon as Xavi came in, Barcelona started looking like Barcelona we all know. A lot of passes, linking play, chances galore, and a brand of football everyone knows came back to live at Camp Nou.

Of course, when he played, it was different. The quality of players is important, and while there are good players such as Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay, most of the squad is probably due to be replaced. However, beautiful play can still be seen when Barcelona plays, even if it is not the Pep Guardiola squad from 2011. If he can get the time to implement his style of play, Xavi will make his squad player better than their realistic quality.

Quality of youngsters + the draw of Barcelona, Xavi, and the style of play 

While the squad is as is, there is still much quality. Not to even mention guys like de Jong, the youngsters are real stars of the future Barca. For example, Nico, Gavi, and Abde are 19, 17, and 20 years old, respectively. All of these guys featured in all of the games since Xavi took over Barcelona. When guys like Pedri, Yusuf Demir, and Ronald Araujo are added to the mix, that looks very good.

It is not only about the potential of youngsters. The strength of Barcelona, despite terrible leadership in the past few years, is in their history and style of play, as well. Players usually do not like playing in defensive, rigid circumstances where individual talent can be undermined by team success. The most glorious thing that Barcelona was able to do with their identity is that individual talent was enhanced by the style of play that also greatly benefits the team, as proven by their years of dominance in the 2000s and the start of the 2010s.

All of these factors combined will eventually lead to Barcelona coming back. Of course, with the rise of other clubs such as PSG, it is difficult to see any team dominate for an extended period of time. However, due to the current situation in the club, the fans would take any sort of success or at least challenge for major titles. Xavi will definitely do that for the club.