By Safiu Kehinde
Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernandez, took no chill as he laid down his 10 Commandments in a bid to revive the teams struggling form.
The Blaugrana are now bound to adhere to Xavi’s strict measures. Ronald Koeman left the team 9th placed on the league table with just 17 points gathered across 12 outings. This does not look impressive enough for Xavi who did not waste time before stamping his authority at the Camp Nou.
Among the 10 commandments were rules emulated from Xavi’s playing days. The 41-year-old is on the verge of inculcating some of the rules into his young Barcelona squad.
The commandments also come with punishment for defaulters which is basically payment of fine. Players who commit same offence twice are likely to get the fine doubled.
Xavi, however, does not seem to be stopping at the commandments alone. He is also on the verge of monitoring his players social media profiles and activities – a move which had seen defender, Gerard Pique terminated a TV interview that was scheduled with El Hormiguero.
The defender had also been requested by Xavi to cut down his trip. Pique is famous for his unusual high-risk hobbies which include surfing, buggy riding, and electric cycling. The Spaniard, according to Marca, has keen passion for dangerous motorsport. All these might also be affected by Xavi’s 10 commandments which are:
1. Players must arrive an hour and a half early for training
2. Staff must arrive two hours early for training
3. Players must eat lunch at the training ground
4. Fines are back
5. Fines get worse for repeat offenders
6. Arrive home before midnight when a game is less than 48 hours away
7. Train well to be in the team
8. Control over non-football commitments – or risk supervision from a member of the coaching staff
9. No more high-risk activities
10. Portray a positive image at all times
Meanwhile, it appeared that Barcelona youngster, Riqui Puig has already broken one of the rules. The 22-year-old was reported to have nearly ran over a pedestrian while driving an electric scooter on a footpath in Barcelona. Though this occurred on Monday, before Xavi outlined his mission towards the improvement of standards.
