Re: El Maestro: Xavier Hernández Creus

by Winter is Coming Thu 4 Sep 2014 - 4:02

I surely can't name. Even as a midfield in general Xavi is up there for me as one of the best and unique.

by windkick Thu 4 Sep 2014 - 6:08

by Winter is Coming Fri 12 Sep 2014 - 19:36

Pep wanted Xavi At Bayern Munich this summer and even offered him double wages. Xavi said no. Didn't want to join anyone who was a direct rival to Barcelona Proud

http://www.barcablaugranes.com/2014/9/10/6130261/report-pep-guardiola-made-offer-to-barcelona-for-xavi

by futbol Fri 12 Sep 2014 - 19:43

Would have been funny to see Thiago on the bench with Xavi and Xabi starting for Bayern. Proud

by BarcaLearning Sun 14 Sep 2014 - 17:28

Wow...

Xavi, that loyalty....by looking at the bench, cant help but feel he will step up in the management roles sooner or later Smile

by Winter is Coming Mon 22 Sep 2014 - 0:22

Xavi Hernandez has spoken excitedly about the future at Barcelona, backing Luis Enrique to succeed as the team’s Coach and mirror Pep Guardiola.

The midfielder appeared on Spanish television and discussed a range of topics, with talk turning to the future - both his own and that of the club.

“I have the same feeling as Guardiola in 2008. There are good years to come,” Marca reports Xavi as predicting.

“He is a winner, a born leader.”

Xavi was also asked about the chance of him leaving Camp Nou and revealed that if he had departed over the summer, he would have left European football, and dismissed the suggestion he had an offer from Guardiola and Bayern Munich.

“I didn’t get anything. I told the club I didn’t want to play in Europe so I didn’t play against Barca,” he confirmed.

“I want to be here and then we’ll see what the future holds.

“Football is my life. I want to get a coaching licence and if I can do that at Barca, the club of my life, of whom I’m a fan, that would be a double joy.”

by Donuts Mon 22 Sep 2014 - 0:26

I truly hope he stays loyal and grinds his way up through Barcelona

by BarrileteCosmico Tue 30 Sep 2014 - 17:37

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/sep/30/xavi-hernandez-champions-league-record

Good article

by Winter is Coming Tue 30 Sep 2014 - 18:23

I like this

To listen to him is to listen to a man entirely committed to a philosophy, a very specific way of understanding the game: pass, pass, pass. “That’s what I do: I look for spaces. All day,” Xavi said. Dani Alves once referred to him as “playing in the future”: the run did not make the pass, the pass made the run. It was the way that Xavi saw the game – “if not, what are you playing for?”

by Winter is Coming Thu 2 Oct 2014 - 18:36

Xavi has admitted that he is not happy with his bit-part role at Barcelona this season and is determined to win back his place in the first team.

The 34-year-old has been the lynchpin of the Blaugrana midfield almost from the moment he made his debut back in 1998, but he has seen little game time under new boss Luis Enrique, who has put his faith in summer signing Ivan Rakitic.

Xavi is frustrated by his current predicament but added that he does not regret the decision he made at the end of last season to stay at Camp Nou for another year, pointing out that there were never any guarantees given that he would be a starter this season.

"I am not happy to be sitting on the bench," the World Cup winner confessed. "I want to play as much as possible and change the current situation. But the team comes first and it's the boss who decides [who plays].

"It isn't a dramatic situation from my point of view and I will try and turn it around to feel more useful.

"I am happy that I stayed at Barcelona. I didn't agree any kind of role beforehand with Luis Enrique."

Xavi featured as a substitute in Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, thus moving him clear of Raul as the most-capped player in the tournament's history, and he conceded that Barca were not at their best at the Parc des Princes.

However, the former Spain international does not see any reason to panic after what was the Catalan's first defeat of the season in all competitions.

"In games like the one in Paris, errors can cost you dearly and we made too many, as much from set-pieces as losing the ball in key areas," Xavi mused. "We didn't play very well but we deserved a draw.

"It isn't a debacle; the feeling around the team is positive. We are on the right track."

Barca, who have yet to concede a goal in La Liga, return to domestic action at the weekend when they face Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

by BarrileteCosmico Thu 18 Dec 2014 - 12:57

“Hopefully I can [follow Guardiola] and even more so in my home here” - Xavi

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/17/xavi-pep-guardiola-barcelona-coach

We already have a LE replacement Proud

by windkick Thu 18 Dec 2014 - 18:23

he could beat Lucho in a game of checkers; Lucho probably doesnt even know how to play chess.

by Donuts Thu 18 Dec 2014 - 19:37

tbh xavi as a coach is being over hyped..
what makes you guys so sure he's going to be successful
as of right now he is below roura's level of managing a team unless you guys can prove otherwise.

if he does start managing teams he should start with our C team work his way to B then if he is legit get the main team.
otherwise i do not see him as any sort of improvement to lucho..

we need to stop getting underachievers for barcelona, just cuz it worked with pep (1 in a million) doesn't mean we have to stop hiring world class managers.

by futbol Thu 18 Dec 2014 - 22:56

Hope he never coaches Barca, even if he did well with the B team. Lucho had the best ever results with the B team, first promoting them from the 3th division to the Segunda then reaching a 3th place in the Segunda (if it were allowed it would have meant promotion to the first division), most goals scored in the Segunda etc. ... On the pitch he was one of the most versatile and commanding players. A real leader type and quite the character. Basically the perfect coach in theory for Barca, maybe even more than Xavi. Doesn't keep people from calling him clueless now. Don't want the same to happen to Xavi.

by CBarca Fri 19 Dec 2014 - 3:54

Xavi has been made for the manager position Proud

Manage us to glory Xavi Proud

by futbol Tue 23 Dec 2014 - 10:31

SPORT’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW IN EGYPT

BARÇA: “We’re totally plugged in and we’re going to win an important title.”

LUIS ENRIQUE: “He seems like an honest man, methodical, clear and he doesn’t deceive anyone.”

FUTURE: “It would have been messed up for me to leave. I want to stay until 2016.”

by Winter is Coming Fri 26 Dec 2014 - 20:04

After football Xavi, a romantic, assured that he wants to stay in the game. "Cruyff told me that the most beautiful thing in our life was to play, and that the closest sensation to that is to manage. I like getting up knowing that I am going to smell the grass, hear the touches of the football... it's my life."

by The Franchise Sun 28 Dec 2014 - 1:06

Fußball wrote:Hope he never coaches Barca, even if he did well with the B team. Lucho had the best ever results with the B team, first promoting them from the 3th division to the Segunda then reaching a 3th place in the Segunda (if it were allowed it would have meant promotion to the first division), most goals scored in the Segunda etc. ... On the pitch he was one of the most versatile and commanding players. A real leader type and quite the character. Basically the perfect coach in theory for Barca, maybe even more than Xavi. Doesn't keep people from calling him clueless now. Don't want the same to happen to Xavi.

But coaching is also about knowledge...we dont know the extent of Enrique's knowledge.

All those character type things are pie in the sky, there is no way to really know how it translates. But knowledge of the game is knowledge of the game, we dont know the extent of Enrique's (nor Xavi's really, though we surely have more glimpses into it) so people calling him clueless have some reason to.

Also for the record, as you know Enrique came to Barca in his early to mid 20's and played there and picked up what he did from the coaches he had, then went on to learn what he did and experience what he did as a coach.

But that doesnt compare to Xavi who has been at Barca since like 8 years old? Its not the same.

And finally, what results people have with the B team mean totally nothing. Results in youth football? Its literally means nothing..you judge what a coach does with the B team (or "C team" like donuts is trying to say, despite the fact the C team no longer exists) by how he devolps the players.

Pep wasnt hired just because he did well with the B team, he was hired because he displayed his knowledge of the game.

by neuro11 Sun 28 Dec 2014 - 8:33

"Cruyff told me that the most beautiful thing in our life was to play, and that the closest sensation to that is to manage. I like getting up knowing that I am going to smell the grass, hear the touches of the football... it's my life."

you can see it in his eyes Laughing

by alexjanosik Tue 10 Mar 2015 - 5:32

For someone who supposedly only passes sideways 5 yards,his passing has been remarkably progressive this season.Put on a passing exhibition against Rayo.
The assist for Suarez was just pure genius.Ball dropping from a height,defender on his back,he passes it first time on the spin to put Suarez through.And thats what separates him from other great passers.Ability to play razor guided passes under immense pressure.Simply unparalleled when it comes to one touch passing and under pressure passing.
We have specialist passers who are known for a particular type of pass.Fabregas for his final passes,Messi for his through balls and diagonal pass,Pirlo for his long balls over the top.
The thing with Xavi is that he is the master of all types of passes.As good as Fabregas at the final pass,as good as Messi at throughballs and diagonal balls and as good as Pirlo at long balls.
Plus he has dimensions to his passing that the others dont.Immaculate passing between the lines,precision passing under pressure and the heel passes which is the master of.
Of past players I have seen,Laudrup was a more genius passer and Platini was perhaps a shade better at the final pass.
But as an overall passer,the Catalan maestro is the greatest the game has seen imo.

by CBarca Tue 10 Mar 2015 - 23:14

Agreed on that pass, that was incredible.

by free_cat Wed 11 Mar 2015 - 11:04

Well, it was about time he did something other than pas sideways this season, and obviously Rayo's suicidal tactics helped him a lot. He can't play any other than in this games against fodder suicidal teams.

by alexjanosik Wed 11 Mar 2015 - 14:07

I can pull up some of his other passes(from other games) this season.He has passed as progressively as any of our midfielders this season.Certainly better than the likes of Rakitic,Iniesta and Rafinha.Not claiming that he has played better than them but he has certainly passed better than them.
Anyway my point was not even about this game or that game.Was making an overall observation that his passing is simply on another level to anyone else.

by Donuts Thu 12 Mar 2015 - 4:30

he is a good bench player.
when rested for games he is useful but nothing else.
he is not the same as he was before, rakitic has been and will be our consistent starter for the next couple of years.

by free_cat Thu 12 Mar 2015 - 10:32

alexjanosik wrote:I can pull up some of his other passes(from other games) this season.He has passed as progressively as any of our midfielders this season.Certainly better than the likes of Rakitic,Iniesta and Rafinha.Not claiming that he has played better than them but he has certainly passed better than them.
Anyway my point was not even about this game or that game.Was making an overall observation that his passing is simply on another level to anyone else.

He will always be a great passer, even at 50 years.
But he can't keep the rythm and as a result his vision is 50% of what it was. Not to mention his inexistence in defence.

by Winter is Coming Mon 23 Mar 2015 - 17:34

Xavi played a role in getting Enrique and Messi on terms according to Hunter lol

Xavi to Enrique,

"Xavi, as captain, intervened. Xavi brought the two sides together and said to Luis Enrique 'give him some slack. He's special and we need him. You're the boss, you need to lead. But rather than fining him or dropping him, what we need here is a rapprochement,'"

Xavi to Messi,

"He then went to Messi and said 'listen, I'm here as captain. This isn't the way to do it. The manager has the right to choose who he wants'. There was a getting together.

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