A couple of months ago, I called Xavi the (im)perfect coach for an (im)perfect Barcelona. It was meant to represent how both are flawed - Xavi being inexperienced and Barcelona a hot mess - but that the appointment still made sense considering what he was brought in to do; what he was meant to do. Sure, Laporta marketed it as the beginning of a new era; the first step towards greatness restored. Xavi, too, took the job because he felt he was ready, having already turned it down twice beforehand because the moment had not been right. But now? Barcelona were allowed to dream once more.

Dreams, however, are often deceiving, as are most things that come free. And at Barcelona, nothing is free. And nothing comes easy. Xavi’s downfall may be put down to numerous reasons - or excuses, depending on how you look at it - ranging from injuries, injustice, recruitment, state of the pitches and all the way to just downright rotten luck. The problem, however, is that none of these account for probably the biggest factor of them all: coaching.

So what exactly has gone wrong for Xavi the coach?