Victor Font
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
BBZ8800
Senior Member
Koeman probably won't be successful because nothing can be done with our team.
But, even worse, then we will have to suffer with Setien no2 for years.
(Probably with the worse version of the original Setien).
Or, known in public as Xavi Hernandez.
We are the only club in the world who is a slave to it's history.
We believe that we are different and better than others.
I guess that we will be bad for at least 10 years with chasing outdated "Pep's dreams".
Majority of people still think that Pep's style still work perfectly and that it is the only way for us.
"If executed properly, nothing can beat Pep's style".
Lol.
It's 2020.
Time has won over Pep's style.
Football has evolved into a new direction and all teams who are chasing the old version of Pep's style are an absolute shit since 2012:
Barca
Spanish NT
Teams coached by Pep
It can't be that "no one is executing it properly" and this is why it is not working anymore.
The reality is:
Teams have either moved away from it because it stopped working (Barca).
Or teams are still trying to play it but it isn't working anymore (Spain and Pep).
But hey, let's live in a dreamland and chase our childhood dreams forever.
Pep's style could work only if it is mixed with modern ideas from Zidane, Klopp and Bayern.
But for puristas, it won't be a Pep's style anymore.
It has some similarities, but this type of football is way different to Barca/Spain from 2008-2012.
Xavi will probably stay in that limbo forever.
The same as Setien, Serghei, Birdy and some others.
If executed perfectly... lol.
I love to shit about these illusions about Pep's style in 2020.
Sorry for the rant, guys.
But, even worse, then we will have to suffer with Setien no2 for years.
(Probably with the worse version of the original Setien).
Or, known in public as Xavi Hernandez.
We are the only club in the world who is a slave to it's history.
We believe that we are different and better than others.
I guess that we will be bad for at least 10 years with chasing outdated "Pep's dreams".
Majority of people still think that Pep's style still work perfectly and that it is the only way for us.
"If executed properly, nothing can beat Pep's style".
Lol.
It's 2020.
Time has won over Pep's style.
Football has evolved into a new direction and all teams who are chasing the old version of Pep's style are an absolute shit since 2012:
Barca
Spanish NT
Teams coached by Pep
It can't be that "no one is executing it properly" and this is why it is not working anymore.
The reality is:
Teams have either moved away from it because it stopped working (Barca).
Or teams are still trying to play it but it isn't working anymore (Spain and Pep).
But hey, let's live in a dreamland and chase our childhood dreams forever.
Pep's style could work only if it is mixed with modern ideas from Zidane, Klopp and Bayern.
But for puristas, it won't be a Pep's style anymore.
It has some similarities, but this type of football is way different to Barca/Spain from 2008-2012.
Xavi will probably stay in that limbo forever.
The same as Setien, Serghei, Birdy and some others.
If executed perfectly... lol.
I love to shit about these illusions about Pep's style in 2020.
Sorry for the rant, guys.
Last edited:
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
The sentence in bold is the key.
Pep himself has actually evolved a lot as a manager since his days here.
Football is athletic game, the whole concept of speed/athletic ability doesn't matter is outdated.
Pep team with City featured the likes of Walker,Sterling, Sane, Cancelo , Mendy who are very quick players. Also KDB is really quick for a midfielder.
The only position he lacks speed is CB, and he pays harshly because of it in CL, he lacks that Puyol level of CB, hell he lacks Mascherano type of CB.
Barca team that tries to be smart without having the athletic ability to impose their game will lose.
Bayern are perfect example, in a way Serghi is right that their coach takes some ideas from Pep book, but he is simply evolving beyond it. They are more direct and physical and forcing teams to play their way.
Messigician
Senior Member
Yet many city fans say he secretly hated how his city team became like that so he changed his system to incorporate players like Rodri and inverted fullback.
BBZ8800
Senior Member
There is one more thing.
For Pep and Xavi: you can never have TOO MUCH POSSESSION.
While in German NT and Bayern, you can often hear remarks from papers and fans like: we had more than 70% of possession, that is too much.
So, German version of TikiTaka is=keep possession but only up to a certain point.
At some point you just need to take some risks, play a risky pass and even lose the ball.
Also, Germnan version of TikiTaka have more true corners, more crosses and headers, more long balls, more long range attempts.
Also, even though Pep's City is physical and faster compared to Barca or Pep's Barca, I would still say that Liverpool and Bayern are way more physical overal than Pep's City.
So, someone could say that a current Bayern is a copy of Pep's ideas.
Maybe.
But they evolved in:
1. having less possession
2. play direct, fast and risky whenever you get a chance for it (Xavi surely won't do this)
3. having more physical players
4. having more versatile attacks than Pep (possession, counters, crosses+headers, corners)
5. having more lethal attackers than Pep who has some fetish on shorter, mobile, hardworking, not too lethal attackers
Also, JamDav often replies to me that City has the highest amount of crosses in EPL.
Their players around the box are: Jesus 175, Sterling 170, Aguero 173, Bernardo 173, De Bruyne 181
Bayern:
186 Muller
186 Perisic
184 Lewa
175 Gnabry
Who's crosses are more likely to end as a dangerous header?
Crosses to Muller, Lewa and Perisic?
Or crosses to Jesus, Aguero and Sterling?
Pep has evolved in some areas, but deep down in his DNA, he is still Pep.
His ideas are perfect in some areas and totally counterproductive in other areas.
And today, 10 years after his success, his flaws are deadlier than back then because football has evolved.
And then we have our purists, Font, Setien and Xavi.
Guys who would play even dumber, more sterile and more outdated version of Pep's style.
I have said a lot of times: a success from Pep's era and fans/socios who are unwilling to live in reality and evolve will be a stumbling block for decades.
There is a very high chance that we will suffer and sink even deeper for 5-20 years because we will be stuck in time forever, trying to chase Pep's ideas, which worked once in a perfect circumstances and who probably won't work ever again.
Players like Pele were able to dominate in 60s.
Maradona was able to rule in 80s.
Would he be able to do it in today's football? No way.
Italian 352 and CAMs rules the world in 90s.
No one sane is playing 352 anymore.
Man Utds 442 was the strongest formation in 90s and early 2000s.
Who plays 442 anymore? Not too many.
For 100 years, teams used to play with 2 true forwards.
No one is playing with 2 true Fcs today.
A false 9 worked for some time.
Teams are not using it anymore.
Cruijff played 343.
Who plays 3 at the back today?
40-50 years ago, a sweeper was the most important position in defense.
Who plays with a sweeper behind defenders anymore?
So many winning styles, formations and players stopped working after some time.
But in Barca's world, Pep's style is eternal and it can't get outdated, lol.
It's not.
It's just that majoriy of our fans were 13 or 15 during Pep, and that era will always be wired into their brains as a part of their childhood, growing up, formatting years and happy days.
And people are unwilling to look at it in a realistic way.
They act as if that was some Godlike mode which will work even in 2222' if executed properly.
I won't even dare to ask: how are you guys planning to play a fast paced modern football with slowish new gen of players (current biggest hopes) like Puig, Ansu, Trincao?
Our club won't return to glorios roads until we move on from the past.
Last edited:
Mistyoptic
New member
This is my second post here, so I'm not trying to cause a fight (lol) but this is an absurd and inaccurate statement. This only applies if you consider the Champions League to be the only platform that actually matters - even if we ignore Pep's time in Bayern (where they were the best team in the world for a significant period of time), you can't say that it 'hasn't worked' at City - for two straight seasons they crushed the PL, racking up 100 points in the first season and 98 in the second. Yes, Pep has adapted, but the style of football is largely the same. People need to stop treating the Champions League like it's the be all and end all of football - domestic success matters too, and there's no luck involved either there.
Pep isn't perfect, he has his flaws obviously (like overthinking the big games) but to say he's failed is pretty ridiculous.
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
I don't know if this can be attributed to risk taking, KDB takes many risks, same with the both Silva guys.
But Pep teams work hard to get possession back, they will never back down. Liverpool is more flexible than him for example.
You can argue that he there might be a lot of aimless passing, but that comes with every attacking football when you are not good enough. Even during Pep days here our worst games would look that way.
As for Xavi
I don't know what is to think of Xavi, sometimes he sound like a genius, some times like an obsessed guy who went too far.
He got the team with 2nd best squad in his league who were title holders, but got 3rd place for them. That isn't terrible considering their ex manager is one of the best in the middle east, and Xavi literally is coaching his ex-teammates as he was playing with them last year, so they were bound for a worse year. He started obsessing with attack until he was destroyed in Asian cup SF, at first leg.
He almost made a Remontada in 2nd leg and admitted that he is paying more attention to defense now. Qatar is building a power house in Asia so I think it isn't a terrible experience for him as some think.
But I still prefer if he takes a job or two before coming here. Sort like Lucho did, get some bang with the big boys to get a reality check of your philosophy and do the necessary adjustments before you became Barca manager.
Barca is in full rebuild, unlike 2008 when pep came with team that needed 3 or 4 players to be elite again (basically only Alves and Pique who was rotating at CB were starters that come from signings) and Xavi will be set for failure if he get here with the wrong mentality and inexperience.
I think his full support for Font isn't good, Font is the underdog for now and he might burn some bridges with other candidates. In addition, Font might not be even doing him a favor rushing him and basically hailing him as savior
serghei
Senior Member
This is valid criticism of Pep, that he doesn't know how to defend deep and that his whole defense depends on the quality of his team's pressing.
If the pressing works well, Pep sides defend well. Provided he doesn't have brain dead defenders like he does at City. Which brings us to problem no2. Quality of defensive signings done under his tenures. He really signs a lot of sketchy defenders, many of them for absurd money. He doesn't have an eye for defenders.
The idea that Pep sides keep possession for the sake of possession is not true though. They are possession sides, with risk taking and intent to attack, in order to create many chances and score goals.
If the pressing works well, Pep sides defend well. Provided he doesn't have brain dead defenders like he does at City. Which brings us to problem no2. Quality of defensive signings done under his tenures. He really signs a lot of sketchy defenders, many of them for absurd money. He doesn't have an eye for defenders.
The idea that Pep sides keep possession for the sake of possession is not true though. They are possession sides, with risk taking and intent to attack, in order to create many chances and score goals.
Devils
Senior Member
https://twitter.com/victor_font/status/1298622856658669568
Oh god this guy wont shut up...
We're doomed.
Oh god this guy wont shut up...
We're doomed.
Marshall D Teach
Well-known member
Are we still talking about this clown?
Last year he was hot, now everybody thinks he is a clown.
Andrew M
New member
Xavi gives the fans warm fuzzies in these uncertain times. It's a pretty superficial campaign
Vilarrubi
New member
Ex-Barca president Sandro Rosell and current presidential candidate Victor Font met recently in Rosell's home. They hold a cordial relationship and are in constant communication about topics regarding the club. [sport]
Is this clown trying his hardest not to get elected or what?
Is this clown trying his hardest not to get elected or what?
Home of Barca Fans
