Santi Cazorla says Barcelona are fortunate to have his former team-mate and coach Xavi in the dugout, as he emphasised the importance of the Blaugrana holding onto young midfielders Pedri and Gavi.
Xavi led Barcelona to second place in LaLiga last term after returning to the club where he won three Champions Leagues as a player last November, having coached Cazorla as part of his only previous managerial assignment, at Qatari outfit Al Sadd.
Cazorla and Xavi were also team-mates during an immensely successful spell in the Spanish national team's history, with the former Arsenal and Villarreal midfielder featuring in triumphant European Championship campaigns in 2008 and 2012.
Speaking to Barcelona's official media channels during a visit to Camp Nou on Friday, Cazorla said Xavi was the idea coach for the Catalan giants due to his long-standing ties with the club.
"For me, he has been a benchmark, as a footballer and as a person," Cazorla said of Xavi. "We have faced each other in many league games, we have coincided in the national team, and I was lucky to have him as a coach.
"He is a spectacular person, and personally I think he is the ideal coach for Barca.
"He knows the club and for him, it's a dream to be here. He knows what the demand here is. I wish him the best."
Barcelona were ninth in LaLiga when Xavi's predecessor Ronald Koeman was sacked last October, having won just four of their opening 10 league games.
Xavi oversaw a dramatic upturn in the Blaugrana's fortunes after taking charge, as Barca won 17 of their last 26 league games, aided by the January arrivals of Dani Alves, Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Meanwhile, Cazorla also emphasised the importance of Barcelona – a club famous for producing diminutive creative midfielders – holding onto youngsters Pedri and Gavi.
While Pedri only made 12 LaLiga appearances during an injury-hit season, 17-year-old Gavi played 34 league games for Barca in the 2021-22 campaign, with Sergio Busquets (36 appearances) the only Blaugrana midfielder selected more frequently.
Gavi produced more league assists (five) than any of his fellow Barca midfielders throughout the course of the season, also creating 15 chances and boasting a passing accuracy of 89 per cent.
With Frenkie de Jong linked with Manchester United as Barcelona look to fund a move for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Cazorla says keeping the Spanish duo is imperative.
"They have to hold on to Pedri, Gavi... People who come out of the academy with strength," he added.
"I enjoy watching them play, it's nice. For the good of football, let's hope they make a good team."
Alonso's injury concerns growing amid Leverkusen fixture congestion
Xabi Alonso stressed that he needs all of his players to compete in Bayer Leverkusen's packed schedule, with Salzburg next up in the Champions League.
French striker Martin Terrier joined Leverkusen's long injury list when he fractured his right forearm during their 5-2 comeback win over Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Jeremie Frimpong also had to go off before half-time.
Jonas Hofmann was ruled out for the rest of the year due to a thigh injury before that game on Saturday, joining Victor Boniface, Amine Adli, Nordi Mukiele and Jeanuel Belocian on the sidelines.
"We need the whole squad but with six injured players, everyone is even more important," Alonso told reporters.
"It's intense to play every three days. A special situation in which we need every single player."
Along with injury concerns, Leverkusen have struggled with form in the past weeks as they drew 1-1 with Brest and then lost 4-0 to Liverpool in Europe's top competition.
Since the start of last season, no team has won more games in major European competition than Leverkusen (11, excluding qualifiers), while only Liverpool (39) and Manchester City (38) have scored more than Alonso's side (37) in this period.
However, since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Leverkusen have won six of their seven home matches in major European competition (D1), and beat Milan in their only match on home soil in the Champions League this term (1-0).
Leverkusen, winners of the domestic double last season, are 13th in the Champions League standings and will face Salzburg, who are 30th, but Alonso said Pepijn Lijnders' side cannot be taken lightly.
"We know how important the upcoming home games against Salzburg and Inter are. We expect a good opponent tomorrow," he added.
"Salzburg plays with a lot of intensity and dynamism. We want to get these important points in the BayArena. We need the energy from the fans. In difficult moments, they can influence and push us."
Flick: Barcelona must 'eliminate mistakes' to claim Champions League win
Barcelona's recent form is a worry for Hansi Flick as they looked to end a two-match winless run against Brest in the Champions League.
Barca went on a remarkable seven-game winning streak through October and early November before stumbling to a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad and a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo in LaLiga, with Lamine Yamal absent from both matches.
After losing their opening Champions League match to Monaco, Barcelona have since won three in a row, including a thumping 4-1 win over Bayern Munich.
Flick, who took charge in May, said his young squad need to learn to cope with adversity and that a positive result against Brest would be a good start.
"The important thing is to win and that is our focus for tomorrow's game," Flick told a press conference. "It's about eliminating the mistakes, this is important. We have a lot of things we can do better with the ball and this is the focus.
"We have a young team, the youngest in LaLiga, and it's not always an easy ride... It is important that the players know that they are good, that they have quality and that they have to stick together.
"We want to teach them and I always think positively. It's a young team and during the season it's normal to have times like this. For me, the important thing is to learn from it."
Barcelona will again be without Yamal for their Champions League tie as he continues to recover from an ankle sprain, with the team having lost all three LaLiga games which he has not started this season.
He has been pivotal to the Blaugrana this campaign and is the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
"We all know how talented he [Yamal] is and how his quality on the pitch can impact a game," Flick added.
"Lamine has a quality that allows you to have more control of possession but also makes the opponent give us more space.
"I think and hope that this will be the last game he misses because [on Monday] he was looking very good [in training] but we will have to wait. I hope that on Saturday he will be an option... maybe from the bench... but we'll see."
Defender Inigo Martinez backed his teammates to overcome Yamal's absence.
"We know how important Lamine is... he gives us a lot, is a difference maker who pushes the defensive line back, he is aggressive, generates assists and a lot of fear in the opponent," Martinez said.
"He is vital and very important, but that doesn't mean that the next player to come on won't be up to the similar level.
"Anyone who jumps in at Barcelona needs to be capable of playing at the highest level. The day that Lamine doesn't play, and we win, this chat that we can't win without him will vanish. We have enough [in the] squad to win every game."
Mbappe position switch works wonders for Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Kylian Mbappe's position in attack paid off in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Leganes.
Mbappe scored his seventh goal of the season to help Madrid to a comfortable victory in LaLiga on Sunday.
However, his position in Madrid's front line has been a topic of debate since he joined the Spanish champions, with Mbappe having often played out wide while at Paris Saint-Germain.
And Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading Los Blancos' attack.
"Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti told reporters.
"We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.
"Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
"Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."
Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.
With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.
He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.
"The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband.
"He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.
"Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."
Jude Bellingham netted Madrid's other goal as Ancelotti's team closed to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Madrid also have a game in hand on Hansi Flick's side.
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