Never_Forget40
Banned
We won 14/15 the treble with Xavi as a bench player but we had Iniesta in God mode that season. I would say if you have one of them in god mode your CL/international title chance increases a lot.
How good was Xavi in the 2010-2011?
- Thread starter matbezlima
- Start date
We won 14/15 the treble with Xavi as a bench player but we had Iniesta in God mode that season. I would say if you have one of them in god mode your CL/international title chance increases a lot.
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
Not just Messi. He knew what each teammate needed to keep them involved in the play. For instance, he would sometimes shift the ball out to Alves just to make sure he had touches.
serghei
Senior Member
Someone said on some other forum that the best way to describe Xavi's work is to understand the difference between talent and intelligence. Xavi was not as talented than Zidane, Ronaldinho, or even his peer Iniesta. But he was always the smatest and most informed player on the pitch.
So many times Xavi was in the position to do something that would make him stand out more, to try one more fancy dribble, to maybe even try an unnecessary nutmeg here and there, but most of the time he was smart enough to know that, while these things would make him looks better to the untrained eye, they wouldn't actually improve the team.
He knew that he didn't have the talent to do things Messi, or Ronaldinho did. Which is why he developed a style and a way of playing based on thoughts, not talent (not to say he was some sort of Douglas in terms of talent, far from it).
So many times Xavi was in the position to do something that would make him stand out more, to try one more fancy dribble, to maybe even try an unnecessary nutmeg here and there, but most of the time he was smart enough to know that, while these things would make him looks better to the untrained eye, they wouldn't actually improve the team.
He knew that he didn't have the talent to do things Messi, or Ronaldinho did. Which is why he developed a style and a way of playing based on thoughts, not talent (not to say he was some sort of Douglas in terms of talent, far from it).
Last edited:
serghei
Senior Member
He didn't score a lot of goals, he didn't dribble too much. Dribbling and shooting technique are basically the areas that are mostly related to talent since a very young age. Xavi was different in terms of style.
It's like the difference between a student who doesn't learn too much but his genius carries him through every exam, and the student who knows everything by heart and is always prepared for any subject. Xavi is the latter.
I have read Xavi's interviews and he is actually very realistic regarding the things he can't do. He knew his role in the team perfectly, and never tried to be something he wasn't. This is what made him so powerful when he met the right manager.
Last edited:
Mitchell1978
Senior Member
the treble win was down mostly to Messi and MSN clicking, Iniesta contributed but already started to decline that season
Never_Forget40
Banned
Agree with you but Iniesta was also crucial for the treble win. In order I would say: Messi > Neymar > Suarez > Iniesta... so the forth best player in the team and a Top5 midfield player that season.
matbezlima
New member
At least from what I have seen so far, his performances in the 2010-2011 season were not as consistently fantastic and creative (specially when it comes to genial through balls) when compared to previous seasons. He still had some truly awesome games, specially in the big stage. His performance in the 5-0 against Real was truly fantastic. But overall in the season, it seems that he was playing a lot safer and not trying as many fantastic through balls, happy enough to simply retain possession, like in the game against Malaga in the 4-1 victory in 2011 (I watched the entire first half and part of the second), Iniesta, Messi, Villa and even Pedro, I think, were playing the crucial fantastic through balls while Xavi was happy to just pass sideways in the center of the pitch.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I looked at whoscored. They do not have stats for 2008-2009 season, but for 2009-2010 season Xavi appears as Barcelona's third best player in La Liga based on average rating of his performances: 7.67. Dani Alves was second and Messi first. He also had an average of one through ball per game and 3.2 key passes per game. And he was also showing great skills, like his fantastic performance against Malaga in Barcelona's 2-1 win. In the 2009-2010 UCL, his performances according to whoscored were crazily fantastic. An average rating of 7.90, the second best in the team. Also 3.7 key passes per game and 1.8 through balls per game. These are insane numbers. Considering that he was injured more in the 2009-2010 season compared to 2008-2009 and how he had less assists, can you imagine how ridiculously impressive all these stats would be for his 2008-2009 season, considering that he had 20 assists in La Liga and 7 in UCL for the 2008-2009 season, while he had "only" 14 assists in La Liga and 4 in UCL in the 2009-2010 season?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010-2011 season in whoscored gives him an average of 2.5 key passes per game and 0.8 through balls per game in La Liga. Still good, but not as dominant as before, Messi and Dani Alves were actually quite close to his numbers. I do not remember well now, but Iniesta was close too. When it comes to the average ratings in La Liga based on whoscored again, he was the fourth best player, with a 7.58 average rating. Dani Alves had 3.66 and Iniesta 3.77, the highest average rating in La Liga for Iniesta's whole career by far in the site. In the 2010-2011 UCL's average ratings, Xavi had an average of 7.44 (behind Busquets in UCL and perhaps even more Barcelona players, I do not recall well now), had 2.2 key passes and only 0.4 throughballs per game, far behind Dani Alves, Messi and Iniesta, who had an 1.1 through balls per game. Xavi finished the season 3 assists in UCL and 7 in La Liga, a clear drop in numbers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to see a version Xavi playing like in these games below, often making great, incisive, fast passes and skills. Aside from the 5-0 against Real Madrid and the 5-1 against Espanyol, I am not getting this level of creativity and constant genius as much as I would expect from a player often praised for his fantastic game's vision, through balls, creativity and the best central midfielder ever, though I still have to watch the vast majority of the games, I confess.
https://youtu.be/55AmsuE2c08
https://youtu.be/ND6PHg74jcA
https://youtu.be/X8AUVftA4L8
https://youtu.be/fXjJLIuuP44
https://youtu.be/S1PBrGRihHU
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I looked at whoscored. They do not have stats for 2008-2009 season, but for 2009-2010 season Xavi appears as Barcelona's third best player in La Liga based on average rating of his performances: 7.67. Dani Alves was second and Messi first. He also had an average of one through ball per game and 3.2 key passes per game. And he was also showing great skills, like his fantastic performance against Malaga in Barcelona's 2-1 win. In the 2009-2010 UCL, his performances according to whoscored were crazily fantastic. An average rating of 7.90, the second best in the team. Also 3.7 key passes per game and 1.8 through balls per game. These are insane numbers. Considering that he was injured more in the 2009-2010 season compared to 2008-2009 and how he had less assists, can you imagine how ridiculously impressive all these stats would be for his 2008-2009 season, considering that he had 20 assists in La Liga and 7 in UCL for the 2008-2009 season, while he had "only" 14 assists in La Liga and 4 in UCL in the 2009-2010 season?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010-2011 season in whoscored gives him an average of 2.5 key passes per game and 0.8 through balls per game in La Liga. Still good, but not as dominant as before, Messi and Dani Alves were actually quite close to his numbers. I do not remember well now, but Iniesta was close too. When it comes to the average ratings in La Liga based on whoscored again, he was the fourth best player, with a 7.58 average rating. Dani Alves had 3.66 and Iniesta 3.77, the highest average rating in La Liga for Iniesta's whole career by far in the site. In the 2010-2011 UCL's average ratings, Xavi had an average of 7.44 (behind Busquets in UCL and perhaps even more Barcelona players, I do not recall well now), had 2.2 key passes and only 0.4 throughballs per game, far behind Dani Alves, Messi and Iniesta, who had an 1.1 through balls per game. Xavi finished the season 3 assists in UCL and 7 in La Liga, a clear drop in numbers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to see a version Xavi playing like in these games below, often making great, incisive, fast passes and skills. Aside from the 5-0 against Real Madrid and the 5-1 against Espanyol, I am not getting this level of creativity and constant genius as much as I would expect from a player often praised for his fantastic game's vision, through balls, creativity and the best central midfielder ever, though I still have to watch the vast majority of the games, I confess.
https://youtu.be/55AmsuE2c08
https://youtu.be/ND6PHg74jcA
https://youtu.be/X8AUVftA4L8
https://youtu.be/fXjJLIuuP44
https://youtu.be/S1PBrGRihHU
Last edited:
BarcaOG
Banned
but that's the point. its not that xavi wasnt talented; of course he was. but he wasnt as talented as iniesta/zidane/ronaldinho. but he was far more intelligent than them, positionally and with the ball at hsi feet
Home of Barca Fans
