A last classic between Ancelotti and Xavi full of contrasts | The truth

Wind in full sail for the Reggiolo coach, who is three games away from what would be his fifth Champions League, a title that would consolidate his place on the throne of the most prestigious tournament's record. It would be the third on the white bench, a milestone with which she would equal Zidane, who was his disciple at Chamartín at the time. Gone are the siren songs of the Brazilian team and any doubts about unquestionable tactical and human management of the locker room, as Carletto is as loved among his players as he is in the club's offices.

«This is the Madrid of Madrid. I am part of this group. I am very proud. This team has an extraordinary commitment, which has been forged this season with the injuries at the beginning,” Ancelotti assessed after the suffered victory on penalties against Manchester City, when asked about his personal stamp on this team and its triumphs, which Despite the Italian's humility, they will remain linked to his figure, who is increasingly gigantic on the benches.

Meanwhile, in Barcelona, ​​the Barça nobility has known for three months about Xavi's decision to leave the club once the season ends, a firm intention that was questioned as Barça straightened the course until consolidating the second place in the league behind Madrid and progressed in the Champions League, where they dreamed of the semifinals until the disaster against PSG in Montjuic last Tuesday.

The hard blow against the French champion has been a real reality check for Barça and has diluted any speculation about the continuity of their coach. It remains to be seen the extent of that intention to convince Xavi to continue with him that Rafael Yuste, the club's sports vice president, expressed a few weeks ago. The coach endorsed his position after the defeat against PSG. The very dynamics of football, so results-oriented and sensitive to changes in trends, suggest that this stage is closed while waiting to specify a replacement.

Among the merits of what was one of the best players in the club's history are the conquest of a League and a Super Cup during lean times at Can Barça. He has also faced the economic hardships with a determined commitment to the quarry that leaves the explosion of talents such as Lamine Yamal or Pau Cubarsí, assets of the club along with members of another previous generation full of talent of which Pedri or Gavi are part.

Xavi was referring to all those diamonds in the rough when in the press conference after the match against PSG he spoke once again of “a team under construction.” “Barça will try again,” he added in relation to the growth of the young people in the short term to once again compete to win the Champions League, in a first analysis from the outside. For now, Xavi only has the complicated mission of conquering the Santiago Bernabéu to reduce the distance with Madrid to five points with six games left and 18 points at stake. If he does not achieve this, the end of his stage will come with several weeks without anything at stake, very conducive to speculation about the future of the Barça bench.

Balanced balance

At least he knows the path that leads to the three points in Chamartín. On the banks of La Castellana he lived one of the best moments of his almost three seasons as a Barça coach. In his second classic on the culé bench, on March 20, 2022, the Catalan coach conquered the fiefdom of the eternal rival in a big way with a 0-4 that excited Can Barça with a change of trend that ultimately did not occur.

That League was on track for Madrid, who dressed in very symbolic black in their stadium, but the truth is that Ancelotti's men also ended up winning the Champions League in Paris against Liverpool. Another thing was the following championship, that of the 2022-23 season, in which Xavi's Barça sang the alirón, defending an a priori defensive resistance not so linked to the traditional culé football philosophy. Xavi returned to the Bernabéu but this time he lost 3-1, taking exact revenge in the last league classic at the Camp Nou until today, with a local victory (2-1) sealed by a goal 'in extremis' by Franck Kessié.

Real Madrid's victory in this season's league classic in Montjuic (1-2), with a decisive double from Jude Bellingham, equalized the head-to-head between Ancelotti and Xavi in ​​the tournament of regularity and gives this duel that it can leave the championship doomed if Barça does not win the option of a definitive tiebreaker.

The Copa del Rey has also been the scene of this particular face-to-face between Ancelotti and home the setback of the previous year in the League (0-4). The last two finals of the Spanish Super Cup (4-1 for Madrid this year and 1-3 for Barça in 2023), in addition to the 2022 semifinal, which ended in white in extra time (2-3) and marked Xavi's debut as coach in the classics, leaving the total balance at 5-4 in favor of Carletto just before the tenth and final head-to-head in the context of the clash between giants.