Xavi: Players to blame for Rijkaard's dismissal
Rijkaard's five-year spell in charge ends on June 30. He will be replaced by Barcelona's reserve team coach and former team captain Pep Guardiola.
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Xavi said the reason behind Rijkaard's sacking was "very obvious - two years without a title," but praised the Dutchman.
Saying that Rijkaard had always stressed the importance of "self-management," Xavi added he was "a benevolent coach."
"He was an example to us in every sense. He treats people tremendously well and was accepted by the locker room. He was an example to everyone and not just as a coach," he said.
Rijkaard led the Catalan team to the league title in 2005. In the following year, Barcelona won both the league and the Champions League.
His dismissal was announced on Thursday, a day after Barcelona lost to champion Real Madrid 4-1. The Catalan team trails Madrid by 17 points in third place, guaranteeing its worst finish in five years and forcing it to play in the qualifying phase of the Champions League.
It was also recently eliminated by Manchester United in the Champions League semifinals on a 1-0 aggregate.
"I get the feeling that this season we have great players but not a great team," Xavi said.
Guardiola won six league titles in 11 seasons as a midfielder with Barcelona. He later played for Brescia, AS Roma, Al Ahly of Qatar and Mexico's Dorados before retiring in November 2006.
He took charge of Barcelona's B team in 2007, and has led it to the top of its group of Spain's fourth division this season.
Xavi, who as a young player was Guardiola's teammate, said the new coach's appointment was "very correct" despite Guardiola's lack of experience coaching a top-level team.
"He has always understood soccer and when he was a player he liked to give orders. In my opinion, he has all the experience in the world because he has lived with this club in a very full sense," he said.
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