The famed Ramon Sanchez Pijzuan will play host to Barcelona’s final game of the 2023-24 season on Sunday. Travelling to Seville, the Catalans have a stiff challenge ahead of them, though the result will not count for much.
Having secured their place as runners-up in La Liga with a win over Rayo Vallecano last weekend, the Catalans have nothing to lose against Sevilla. The game, however, will be important for reasons that transcend the points table.
The club are preparing to embrace change in June, and tomorrow’s clash will be all about closing the current chapter on a positive note.
They head to Seville with a good record at the venue and will look to carry forward their ongoing three-game unbeaten streak at Ramon Sanchez Pijzuan.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Sevilla vs Barcelona.
Xavi’s final act
“Stability is a maxim in successful projects, especially for this one,” Joan Laporta said in a press conference just over a month ago, justifying his decision to persist with Xavi as the manager of the first team and maintaining faith in the tactician.
One month later, Barcelona are once again preparing for their final game under Xavi. The manager did indeed cave into Laporta’s requests for him to continue as coach, only to be sacked by the club president less than 30 days later.
The board’s management of the situation can only be described as disrespectful, more so as it concerns a legend of the club who always placed Barcelona over personal gains.
Xavi indeed deserved a better farewell, but the Catalans club seem to have found a knack for pulling off shambolic departures for club legends.
The Spanish tactician displayed no signs of resentment towards the board in his press conference and accepted Laporta’s decision with grace. Tomorrow will be the last time Xavi manages the team, in this stint at least, and he deserves to leave on a high.
Barcelona’s clash against Sevilla may bear no direct consequences on the season, but it will go down in history as the end of an era. The players, thus, must push to send off the club legend with a fitting result and a night of smiles.
The end of a roller-coaster ride
The 2023-24 campaign has been mixed for Barcelona and can only be described as a roller-coaster. From the highs of dominating PSG in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal to the lows in El Clasico, the team have seen it all.
The start of the campaign from Xavi’s side was subpar, and it did not take long for Girona and Real Madrid to establish a sizeable lead at the top of the table. The manager’s announcement of his departure early in the year, however, turned the tables.
Nobody can deny the fact that Barcelona looked heavily motivated after Xavi announced his departure as they went on a 13-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. At one point, a place in the UCL final and a chance to return to the title race appeared in sight.
Two consecutive defeats to PSG and Real Madrid, however, derailed the team’s campaign once more. While the first defeat can be attributed to a rookie red card, El Clasico saw the team concede a stoppage-time winner.
At no point in the season did Barcelona look like legitimate title contenders, but the campaign did bring out numerous gems from La Masia in Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Fermin Lopez.
The roller-coaster of 2023-24 finally comes to an end tomorrow as the team take to the field one last time this season. Finishing on a high, needless to say, would do a world of good to the dressing room.
A night of uncertain farewells
The coming summer transfer window was always expected to be one with numerous high-profile moves at Barcelona, and the appointment of a new manager almost ascertains the involvement of many departures in June.
Hansi Flick’s arrival will likely trigger a new round of filtering in the Catalan capital and could see some big names leave the club.
Tomorrow, thus, will be the last time quite a few players don the Blaugrana colours but both fans and the dressing room do not know which names will be on the departure list. The night, thus, will be one of uncertain farewells.
For some like Marcos Alonso and Oriol Romeu, it is almost certain that tomorrow will be the last time they don the Azulgrana colours. Others, like Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix, appear closer to the exit door than staying.
It is, however, names like Ronald Araujo and Raphinha that the spotlight will shine the brightest on tomorrow.
With a big sale a necessity at this point, it will certainly be the last time at least one of these aforementioned names plays as a Blaugrana.
