Barcelona's year of chaos continues, finally firing its manager after months of speculation and rumor
- Barcelona fired manager Ronald Koeman following the side's defeat to Rayo Vallecano Wednesday.
- Koeman's job has been hanging by a thread for months, but Wednesday's loss was the final straw.
Barcelona's chaotic year continued on Wednesday night when the club fired manager Ronald Koeman after an abysmal start to the season by the Spanish side's high standards.
Dutchman Koeman was sacked following a 1-0 defeat in La Liga to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, Barcelona's second loss in as many games after it was beaten at home by fierce rivals Real Madrid on Sunday. The loss left Barca languishing in ninth place.
In a statement, the Catalan club said president Joan Laporta had informed Koeman of the decision after Wednesday's game and that the Dutch manager will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday.
Koeman's departure marks another sour note in a nightmare year for Barcelona. Since the summer, the club has been forced to let star players Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann leave, has struggled to find the cash to register new players and currently sits six points off league leaders Real Madrid.
In a bid to overturn its fortunes, Barcelona is reported to have contacted former midfielder and club captain Xavi Hernández.
Xavi is a legend of the club having come through Barcelona's youth academy before making 767 appearances for the first team. During his playing career, Xavi won eight league titles, three Copa del Reys, and four UEFA Champions League.
The former club captain left Barcelona in 2015 to join Qatari club Al Sadd and is currently Al Sadd's manager, but the Guardian reports he is keen to return to his boyhood club.
Barcelona will be hoping Xavi provides a similar boost to that of another ex-player, Pep Guardiola, who managed the club to an unprecedented period of success between 2008 and 2012, while Xavi was a Barca player.
Barcelona hoping Xavi will follow in Guardiola's footsteps
Pep Guardiola, like Xavi, was a previous player before he became the Barcelona head coach in 2008.
While many had their initial doubts, Guardiola proved to be a huge success, overseeing a period of success unlike anything else in the club's history.
With Guardiola at the helm, players like Xavi, Messi, and Andrés Iniesta became world class superstars. Together they won three league titles, two Copa del Reys, and two UEFA Champions Leagues.
In appointing Xavi, Barcelona will be hoping he can bring a similar level of success, but there have been many other examples of ex-players returning to clubs and failing to have the same impact.
Frank Lampard made 429 appearances for Chelsea, but was sacked 18 months after becoming the manager.
Andrea Pirlo's return to Juventus lasted just one year after the team barely scraped into the Champions League qualification places.
Current Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær is another former player to suffer ill fortune upon returning to his old club as a manager.
After a worryingly poor start this season, Solskjær's tenure at the club looks increasingly fragile with reports saying he could have been sacked following United's 5-0 loss to rivals Liverpool.