THE EURO FILES: It’s time for Xavi to embark on his final El Clasico… but his broken Barcelona stars are closer to hitting each other than challenging Real Madrid

It’s Xavi’s last fight on Sunday – his last El Clasico in charge of Barcelona. And there are only two ways things can go.

Win, and he plays his time at the helm of something that at least resembles a title race. The gap will be five points with six matches remaining.

If you fail to win, there will be no more important matches. His legacy as Barcelona coach will be defined: more red cards than trophies.

Real Madrid enter Sunday’s match with a day less recovery after 120 minutes of defending against Manchester City. They still have tough away games at Real Sociedad and Villarreal, as well as the distraction of the Champions League semi-finals.

But in Barcelona there was no bugle, no thud – they were closer to colliding.

Barcelona reeling from midweek Champions League elimination by Paris Saint-Germain

Barcelona are now preparing for a clash against arch-rivals Real Madrid, who are celebrating their victory over Man City on Wednesday.

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has dropped defender Ronald Araujo for his early sending off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, saying: “To bring a player down so early, it kills the game. Let’s give the goalkeeper a chance to save us or even concede a goal,” he said.

Araujo responded: “I prefer to keep what I think (about Gundogan’s comments) to myself. I think there is a code (in the locker room) and there are certain values ​​that must be respected.

The team is divided between those who believe harsh truths need to be told, whether publicly or privately, and those who side with Araujo and are starting to resent the big signings who have arrived in the last two years – Robert Lewandowski, Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo among them.

And it’s Xavi who manages all of this, who is already working on his position. It has long been clear, in Monty Python language, that he is not the Messiah, but just a very naughty boy.

Barca fans were hoping for the second coming of Pep Guardiola. Instead, they have a manager whose midweek red card was his third this season. He has been booked 22 times since taking over as Barca coach, more than any other Spanish manager in the same period.

But despite his flaws, what’s striking about Barcelona’s predicament is that things could get worse after him.

Don’t rule out that they will look back fondly on the Xavi era in a few years.

After all, he won the title last season. This year he has had to deal with his move away from Camp Nou.

Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has suspended defender Ronald Araujo for his early sending off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Beat Madrid and Xavi plays out his tenure in something that at least resembles a La Liga title race

How different would things have been on Tuesday if there had been 96,000 people on the field instead of 50,000, the width of a running track?

The 44-year-old did things well. Last season, his use of Gavi and Pedri as first points in midfield gave Barcelona a different dimension.

This season, his conversion of former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen into midfield has made them more solid.

Christensen was suspended for that midweek loss to PSG. Gavi has been injured all season. Xavi has not been a lucky manager.

Xavi will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after announcing his intentions earlier in the season.

Barca B team coach Rafa Marquez, who played for the seniors between 2003 and 2010, is now favorite to succeed Xavi.

He’s made mistakes – choosing his brother Oscar as No. 2 instead of a more experienced assistant seems to be one of them. But there are many coaches less suited to managing Barca than the man who played 767 games for the club, and they may find out over the coming seasons.

Barca B team coach Rafa Marquez, who played for the seniors between 2003 and 2010, is now favorite to succeed him. Barcelona would not be able to convince or afford Mikel Arteta, Jurgen Klopp or Luis Enrique.

Márquez is a great friend of football director Deco and will comply with the demands of the team he puts together. Deco and Xavi have never been on the same wavelength.

A win tomorrow against Real Madrid and Xavi’s last six games in charge will mean something. Lose and the biggest question is whether or not he’ll show up for the final month of the campaign.

Dembélé is Enrique’s starboy

Ousmane Dembélé often has the expression of a man who doesn’t know what day it is. Luckily for him, every day for Luis Enrique is Dembele Day.

‘Ouse’, as the PSG coach calls him, was signed at Barcelona before Enrique joined last summer and it was not unreasonable to think the two might not get on. One likes intensity and unfailing commitment, the other likes a lie-in.

At least that is the image conveyed in Barcelona. Occasional delays to training allowed Dembele to be easily portrayed as an immature wastrel living ankle-deep in takeaway pizza boxes and sleeping poorly due to a video game addiction.

A drawing appeared in the Catalan press before the first leg against PSG with the caption: “They will play with 10 because they have Dembélé”.

Ousmane Dembele currently plays for PSG after a previous difficult spell at Barcelona

Dembélé benefits from the love shown to him by PSG coach Luis Enrique.

This sums up the low opinion many Barcelona fans have of him. His every move was mocked during the second game and counterfeit $100 bills were passed around outside the stadium with Judas written on them.

They don’t like the fact that he cost £130m, was injured a lot and then left for half that amount. Despite the hostile atmosphere, Dembélé was the man of the match. He didn’t let the animosity bother him and here is the reason why Enrique loves him.

Barcelona fans have a low opinion of Dembélé after his difficult time at the club

One of the PSG coach’s obsessions is that his players have a goldfish memory and are able to overcome setbacks instantly. Dembélé has this. He does not care. He is not fazed. He barely notices the criticism. And perversely, his lack of focus on everything else forces him to focus entirely on the next time he gets the ball.

In this sense, he is for Enrique – as we would never call him in Barcelona – a model player.

The complicated quest for Bayern head coach

Harry Kane still has no idea who his manager will be next season. Bayern Munich’s signal that it is ready to bring back Julian Nagelsmann has only accelerated the German Football Association’s renewal process at the helm of the national team.

Bayern Munich still haven’t found a replacement for outgoing head coach Thomas Tuchel

Their targets are now as disparate as Ralf Rangnick, Unai Emery and Zinedine Zidane. The only certainty seems to be that there will be change.

Even winning the club its seventh European Cup would not cure the bad feeling between Thomas Tuchel and the kingmakers of Bayern.