serghei
Senior Member
I'd argue not anymore. This isn't Tata post Pep where we win a game 3 or 4 nil and and the papers lambast the possession stats.
LE, Valverde, Koeman never played the Barca way.
Barca DNA is dead. The last top midfielder that came through with Barca DNA was Thiago 10 years ago.
Gavi, Pedri, Araujo, Nico are all not Barca DNA defenders and midfielders. There's no Pedro's, Messi's, Alba's, Piques, Busquets coming through. Only one that is close is Eric.
His big money bet so far Ferran, is not a Barca DNA striker, suffering the quickness of brain and intuition in short spaces and passing.
So it is probably better if Xavi adapts his ideas around the talent in the scope of a modern 433.
Because waiting to revert the current base to our football of a single one-off LaMasia generation is dreaming.
Nah, Pep's Barcelona was not the normal Barca football, it was the highest expression of it, a freak team, like Bulls in the 90s. There are variables. Luis Enrique's team was very much in the spirit of Barca football. The same was Rijkaard's team and other variants.
EV was not exactly. Too negative. Koeman no.
Xavi doesn't look like a Pep student either. More like Van Gaal, Rijkaard, and Enrique, but he is not blessed with very good offensive players. From Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Messi, Suarez, Neymar, to current players the drop is enormous.
I'd say the normal high-class Barca is more like Rijkaard and Lucho. With star offensive players and possession, and a mix of strong players and leaders and technical magicians. With Pep, the team was like a freak technically. Never seen anything like it. Superstars on the ball that are normally scattered at the world's best 5-6 teams (if that, since most were all-time greats), were all of the sudden playing for the same side week in week out.
I don't think anyone thinks Pep's Barca level is normally achievable or the model for us.
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