Xavi Hernández

[Rassvet]

21 points from 10 league games so far. That's a pace of about 80 points for a season.

Not quite Valverde numbers but still impressive stuff from mister Xavi, especially given the squad he is working with.

 

[serghei]

21 points from 10 league games so far. That's a pace of about 80 points for a season.

Not quite Valverde numbers but still impressive stuff from mister Xavi, especially given the squad he is working with.

2nd place, 2 points behind Madrid in 10 games. That's with Jutgla and Abde 90% of the time, leading the attack. Pretty good for a manager with no experience, put in the line of fire in this bad situation, midseason.

We have to continue on this path and improve even more.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

2nd place, 2 points behind Madrid in 10 games. That's with Jutgla and Abde 90% of the time, leading the attack. Pretty good for a manager with no experience, put in the line of fire in this bad situation, midseason.

We have to continue on this path and improve even more.

Exactly. We had absolutely terrible squad this season. It's crazy how well we did in the end.

 

[Birdy]

2nd place, 2 points behind Madrid in 10 games. That's with Jutgla and Abde 90% of the time, leading the attack. Pretty good for a manager with no experience, put in the line of fire in this bad situation, midseason.

We have to continue on this path and improve even more.

That part about the squad should stop being an excuse from now on.
The attack is stacked with quality.
The midfield too
Even defense the choices to play the geriatrics like Dany, Pique, who have other alternatives are made by the coach

I am happy with some of the improvement so far, and expect more and contending for the EL seriously

 

[serghei]

That part about the squad should stop being an excuse from now on.
The attack is stacked with quality.
The midfield too
Even defense the choices to play the geriatrics like Dany, Pique, who have other alternatives are made by the coach

I am happy with some of the improvement so far, and expect more and contending for the EL seriously

Depends on what we're talking about. If Madrid sign Mbappe, and we expect to compete with them next season for the title, we need to add more players for sure, at least 2-3 good additions.

For the top 4, yeah, should be enough even as it is. But I want Laporta to go to work, fix the defense and get us the players to compete for the title. Xavi has a lot of ambition and the players are on board. We just need to sort out the defense and we could challenge even next season.

 

[Windhook]

Depends on what we're talking about. If Madrid sign Mbappe, and we expect to compete with them next season for the title, we need to add more players for sure, at least 2-3 good additions.

For the top 4, yeah, should be enough even as it is. But I want Laporta to go to work, fix the defense and get us the players to compete for the title. Xavi has a lot of ambition and the players are on board. We just need to sort out the defense and we could challenge even next season.

I agree, we need reinforcement in defence ASAP. Pique can consider himself an icon and rightly so, but he's basically hasn't impressed me in action since 2016 or so. His diagonal passes are the only thing left that remind us of his former glory.

 

[Birdy]

Depends on what we're talking about. If Madrid sign Mbappe, and we expect to compete with them next season for the title, we need to add more players for sure, at least 2-3 good additions.

For the top 4, yeah, should be enough even as it is. But I want Laporta to go to work, fix the defense and get us the players to compete for the title. Xavi has a lot of ambition and the players are on board. We just need to sort out the defense and we could challenge even next season.

About the attack: not at all.
We have abundant quality now with Ferran, Ansu, Dembele, Adama, and Auba.
Now if Dembele goes, and Ansu is always out injured, yes we need 2 top additions. But atm that shouldn't be an excuse about Xavi

About the defense: Yes, we need good additions there, but if Xavi plays Pique ahead of Garcia, and Dani ahead of Dest,
the onus and the blame for that is on him.

 

[JamDav1982]

Alves can be better than Dest in the team but still be an area that needs improved.

Dest had the position and didnt show nearly enough on any consistent basis. Making far too many poor choices on the ball when slowing game down for some skill or cutting inside and providing no real width.

Barca need a new RB and to hope some team will come in with even semi decent offer for Dest but for now can see why Xavi is preferring Alves for what he offers on the ball in role he has.

 

[serghei]

About the attack: not at all.
We have abundant quality now with Ferran, Ansu, Dembele, Adama, and Auba.
Now if Dembele goes, and Ansu is always out injured, yes we need 2 top additions. But atm that shouldn't be an excuse about Xavi

About the defense: Yes, we need good additions there, but if Xavi plays Pique ahead of Garcia, and Dani ahead of Dest,
the onus and the blame for that is on him.

Mate, you need better defenders than Garcia and Dest. One is a former City bench warmer, and one is a raw talented player. Garcia is fine as a squad player, to let him develop in time and see where you go.

I'm talking about signing someone who is class. You need one top-class CB to command the defense.

Alves can be better than Dest in the team but still be an area that needs improved.

Dest had the position and didnt show nearly enough on any consistent basis. Making far too many poor choices on the ball when slowing game down for some skill or cutting inside and providing no real width.

Barca need a new RB and to hope some team will come in with even semi decent offer for Dest but for now can see why Xavi is preferring Alves for what he offers on the ball in role he has.

Not sure we need a new RB, or just might as well go with Dest, but take it a bit slower. The market is not really providing you with players who are even 20% of Alves' on-the-ball ability. If that is the profile we're looking for, we'll be looking until 2027.

 

[iniestaGOAT]

Mate, you need better defenders than Garcia and Dest. One is a former City bench warmer, and one is a raw talented player. Garcia is fine as a squad player, to let him develop in time and see where you go.

I'm talking about signing someone who is class. You need one top-class CB to command the defense.



Not sure we need a new RB, or just might as well go with Dest, but take it a bit slower. The market is not really providing you with players who are even 20% of Alves' on-the-ball ability. If that is the profile we're looking for, we'll be looking until 2027.

We need a new RB too dest is trash

But we are getting ajax rb, Christensen and azpi. More if one of your cbs leave. Dest is gonna go too. Alves every I'll be the back up to new RB
.

 

[Windhook]

Not sure we need a new RB, or just might as well go with Dest, but take it a bit slower. The market is not really providing you with players who are even 20% of Alves' on-the-ball ability. If that is the profile we're looking for, we'll be looking until 2027.

Rarely we will find someone of Dani Alves calibre in terms of cockiness and motivation. The guy comes from extreme poverty in Brazil and plays the game like a religion. Dest is decent enough, but has a lot to learn on positional play.

 

[El Gato]

This is the second part of the Masterclass series, uploaded today

Dont know how recently this was filmed, but found it weird how he explains attacking phase on the assumption the opponent defends in 4-4-2. Barely anyone employs this so rigidly, most come down to some variation of 4-5-1 with two wide players ready to pounce on counter

Kinda tells you why there still are garbage Pique balls bypassing lines and his idea of #4 that can't access #6. Liverpool plays a variation of that 4-3-3 and Henderson can access the ball with ease whenever played aside Fabinho

 

[Birdy]

Mate, you need better defenders than Garcia and Dest. One is a former City bench warmer, and one is a raw talented player. Garcia is fine as a squad player, to let him develop in time and see where you go.

I'm talking about signing someone who is class. You need one top-class CB to command the defense.

All I am saying is as long as Pique and Alves play, you cannot argue that Dest and Garcia is the problem of low quality.
Xavi's decisions to play the former group ahead of the latter is questionable.

 

[Windhook]

Kinda tells you why there still are garbage Pique balls bypassing lines and his idea of #4 that can't access #6. Liverpool plays a variation of that 4-3-3 and Henderson can access the ball with ease whenever played aside Fabinho

The video states in the beginning it was recorded sometime in October 2021, while he was still managing Al-Sadd.

Yes, Pique is not the CB/libero the Cruyffismo demands, he's basically delivering diagonal passes to the wingbacks while up front nowadays, specifically to Jordi Alba. Koeman and Frank De Boer were great in this role in those long balls to Romario/Stoichkov/Kluivert and etc. and who can forget that Bergkamp goals against Argentina at 1998 World Cup?

 

[El Gato]

The video states in the beginning it was recorded sometime in October 2021, while he was still managing Al-Sadd.

Yes, Pique is not the CB/libero the Cruyffismo demands, he's basically delivering diagonal passes to the wingbacks while up front nowadays, specifically to Jordi Alba. Koeman and Frank De Boer were great in this role in those long balls to Romario/Stoichkov/Kluivert and etc. and who can forget that Bergkamp goals against Argentina at 1998 World Cup?

I mean, whole structure of attack he explains seems.. out of date?
I aint no expert watching weeks worth of footage with real-time analysis software but many in football are moving on from defensive lines of 4. Only City and Pool still keep it that way and for different reasons, while not even defending in a midfield 4 as Salah and Mane always ready to pounce on the break from the line of 5 one of them slots in (usually on the flank that has the ball).
Pochettino likes the DM to drop in between CBs. Case under Zidane does that too unless he has to cover a weak fullback vs strong winger (Marcelo-Messi situation).
Conte Spurs drop into midfield 4 or 5 but also have a backline of 5 most time with WB slightly advanced to take ball upfield.
Tuchel Chelsea has two extra midfielders (Mount/Ziyech/Havertz/whoever) to drop into a midfield 4 + backline of 5 (or vice versa depending how weak opposing wings are and how advanced he can leave Chilwell and James).

Xavi whole idea of 'defensive squares' as if he still in today's football gets to pull the LCB/RCB with a winger and play that ball to false 9 from Pique and play a RCM (himself in that video in Pep Barca scenario) in for an assist is just so old

Pique or the opposing winger can still do a good cross-field pass to Alba going in behind, but the attacking LB is in some cases, like in Barca's, the widest player. Fati likes to cut to play LCF, Auba does too. IMO would be much better off trying to play 3-4-3 with Alba wide + FDJ-Gavi/Pedri/Nico/Kessie/whoever and move off the garbage idea of Busquets playing the #6 that constantly leaves team and the useless Pique exposed when a less talented player doesn't make a pass.
Feels like part of why he doesn't want to try it is because Frenkie is hesitant to take the reins in such setup in a central duo and has to rely on Busquets oldass legs to make it happen