Mavericky Puig

[fergus90]

True.

In Xavi's early years:
1. Spanish NT sucked, like always except from 2008-2012
2. Barca hasn't won La liga in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
3. In 2003, we even didn't qualify for a Cl
4. In 2004, in uefa cup, we got KOd by Celtic, lol
5. In 2005, Gerard-Xavi-Deco-Iniesta magical quartet got eaten alive by Lampard and Mou at Stamford bridge
6. In 2006, we won a CL, but Xavi injured knee ligaments in December of 2005, so we won a CL with Edmilson, Deco, Van Bommel, Motta and Iniesta and he didn't even play in KO matches at all.

In that sense, of course that Xavi didn't have a worldwide recognition.
Even though, my 3 personal favorites back then were Ronnie, Etoo and Xavi.

Barca's fans knew Xavi.
People outside of Spanish football, not so much.

He improved with Spain from 2008-2012 and under Pep, but as you said, it is hard to tell whether:
1. Xavi suddenly improved that much aged 28
2. Or his teams just started winning, he was a key part of a well oiled machine and casual viewers started to notice him

For me, personally, Xavi was awesome even from 2003.
Imo, it is not as if he started to be 3x times better player in 2008.

Yeah my favourites from the Rijkaard era were also Ronnie, Eto'o and Xavi although Eto'o was my number 1. We had such a mixture of great profiles then and had a spell of making the right signings almost every time. Van Bommel was a real warrior, Davids the season before, Marquez, Deco, Larsson etc. Oh how times have changed.

I also agree with the opinion that Xavi didn't suddenly progress at age 28, like you said the machine around him were the perfect components to compliment him.

 

[Bobo32]

Yeah my favourites from the Rijkaard era were also Ronnie, Eto'o and Xavi although Eto'o was my number 1. We had such a mixture of great profiles then and had a spell of making the right signings almost every time. Van Bommel was a real warrior, Davids the season before, Marquez, Deco, Larsson etc. Oh how times have changed.

I also agree with the opinion that Xavi didn't suddenly progress at age 28, like you said the machine around him were the perfect components to compliment him.

Ronnie, Deco, Marquez were my three favourites. Davids is very underrated as well when talking about the change of the club, him and Ronnie together were almost singlehandedly turning things around, making many of the 2004 transfers possible, I'd guess.
van Bommel I don't want to talk about. Giuly, Milito, Belletti were other annoying players back then as well.

 

[Xaviniesta]

@Bobo32 thoughts on today's performance?

 

[Bobo32]

@Bobo32 thoughts on today's performance?

I just posted above...
Riqui didn't get to show much (I think everyone can agree it wouldn't hurt to put him on earlier) but what he did was slighly positive.
The team seemed pretty well balanced from the get-go and started the game well, but as time went on it became clear Sevilla was the better team. The french wingers+Messi had much too high error%, and the midfield was (instructed?) to play too fluidly.

This team is not very strong mentally, despite the turnarounds lately. 1-0 changed the game completely, and the team needed some injection in order to get back on track after that.

 

[vegitot]

Come on now, it's not hard to tell. At least with the facts in hand.
I have bragged about being right about certain players at the time, but let me be a bit more modest and admit something about Xavi:
Of course I always rated him above Lampard (and above Fabregas), but I much preffered Deco and Iniesta in that 2003-2008 period (I always wanted all three to play, which they did not get to do very often). After Peps arrival and success, at least I had the courtesy to admit I was wrong; Xavi was the ultimate midfielder. It is insanity to say he suddenly got that much better at 28, and that it just happened to coincide with Pep's arrival. Had Pep and the other players arrived in 2003, Xavi would be considered the goat already in 2008.

Puig is not very much alike Xavi. He is a combination of Xavi and Iniesta, with a bit of Deco in him as well. He has some of Xavis movement and sense of positioning together with his willingness to recieve the ball; he has some of Iniestas agility and timing in the dribbles, and I see some of Iniestas passing patterns in him as well (the one-twos, the outside passes, the passes behind the defence); and some of Decos genious and ability to create together with his relentless pressing.
Does he hold the same class as these three? I say so, but I admit it remains to be seen.

Today he got 5 minutes or so, I think he showed (for those wanting to see) again that he is well positioned, makes decent decisions, is good technically, and so on.
As you rightfully said before ITT, he does make decisions on the fly. But it is obvious he keeps 5 options available at all times, and is ready to change his option in a ms. There was a situation where he found a good forward pass after having kept the ball for what most players would feel too long, but he has a calmness in him that I like.

Any edvidence to show that you rate Xavi higher than Lampard in 2005??? Did you post it somewhere on Internet???

The later part is ridiculous. Now Puig= Xavi + Iniesta + Deco. Laughable.

 

[Bobo32]

Any edvidence to show that you rate Xavi higher than Lampard in 2005??? Did you post it somewhere on Internet???

The later part is ridiculous. Now Puig= Xavi + Iniesta + Deco. Laughable.

No I did not post this on the internet. You will have to trust me that I would not lie on an anonymous vBulletin board.
Judging by the way you read my posts, you yourselves must be putting forward some agenda here, believing that it changes something?
I don't think it does, and I am just writing what my eyes see, not thinking so much about how it is percieved (but perhaps hoping for someone to see football at least slightly similarly)

At least I have evidence that I in 2021 think that 2005 Xavi was superior to 2005 Lampard.

 

[vegitot]

No I did not post this on the internet. You will have to trust me that I would not lie on an anonymous vBulletin board.
Judging by the way you read my posts, you yourselves must be putting forward some agenda here, believing that it changes something?
I don't think it does, and I am just writing what my eyes see, not thinking so much about how it is percieved (but perhaps hoping for someone to see football at least slightly similarly)

At least I have evidence that I in 2021 think that 2005 Xavi was superior to 2005 Lampard.

Now it is 2021 and you think Xavi was better than Lampard in 2005??? Read your post, few page before when you ask if Lampard was rated higher in 2005. Remember,people in 2005, not in 2021 look back in 2005. You have no edvidence to say you rated Xavi higher in 2005.

 

[Xaviniesta]

celebration merchant

 

[Andresito]

Flawless game tbh. Not the most involved in attack but very reliable.

 

[Raketa10]

Great game!

 

[Richard.H]

Had an excellent game. I know it's Alaves, but he looked very very good. His touches and turns are actually meaningful unlike Arthur. I still think he's an excellent rotation player. He should be utilized more, as a 2nd half sub for a tired Pedri or Busi

 

[mc_lovin]

Puig is closer to Xavi and Iniesta than to guys like Alena, Denis or Coutinho. Hes a wonderful player.

(I am not saying he will reach their level or succeed here)

 

[vegitot]

Good performance. Alaves seem to be his favourite.

 

[JamDav1982]

He played well.

Alaves with two strikers there was all the space in world in middle of park and did well with it. Was better than Pedri who was losing the ball a lot.

 

[Alik]

Great match!! Made some Messi-esque passes.