Xavi Hernández

[DonAndres]

I'm not blaming the entire result on him, just assessing his personal performance. And I agree, with more rest we'll see a much better playing Xavi more often rather than a 50% player who is king statistically but doesn't add much life to the team in reality.

 

[Ender]

Hopefully Thiago saw this match as proof his time as a starter is nigh.

 

[Neymar7]

I think he has another year or 2 left at the top level, no more imo.

 

[ryaninho]

Xavi had no impact on the game I'm sorry how many times we going to say he is not fit then why play him

 

[impeh]

bad game, but everyone did.

he cant play 180 minutes and then another 90, 3 days later.

 

[loozy]

bad game, but everyone did.

he cant play 180 minutes and then another 90, 3 days later.

I didn't know that extra time was 90 minutes long

 

[Mr Hulot]

That was a statement game for Xavi in my opinion. It is the first final to see him not rising to the occasion. It was not only the pressing, but he seemed like he lost confidence in his passing abilities.
If Thiago stays to the club and work really hard, I reckon that he will surpass Cesc in the pecking order and he will play more minutes than Xavi by the end of the year.

 

[impeh]

I didn't know that extra time was 90 minutes long

i err.. included the warm up.. :whistle2:

 

[Jadentheman]

This is why it's more crucial then ever to keep Thiago and play him more over these next few seasons. Xavi has clearly lost it, now he's starting to become a detriment to the team ala Ronaldinho 07/08.

 

[Ghost]

 

[Faceless]

How many times have we seen this exact reaction..

 

[Stric]

Will someone now explain to me how in the hell Ramos got picked to take the penalty? When was the last time he took one, excluding penalty shootouts?

Now back on topic, the underrating of Xavi has really gone to extreme lengths lately. He has shown multiple times even during this period of "decline" that he's still a brilliant player. There's one main problem and that's him being overplayed. It's probably his fault as much as it is of his coaches, but it is what it is. The point is - that's the problem. His health is one, as well. Combine these two and what you get is a player who's not fit to play as many games as he has this season, and in consequence will look mediocre, uninterested and uninspired in many of them. If managed wisely, Xavi will remain a brilliant player for at least a few more seasons to come.

 

[Faceless]

Will someone now explain to me how in the hell Ramos got picked to take the penalty? When was the last time he took one, excluding penalty shootouts?

I don't think I have ever seen him take it. we should have expected it for Ramos..

 

[Stric]

I remember reading a statement of his somewhere, in which he says something about not having trouble with taking that responsibility and being glad to take the shot. Well that's all fine and dandy... IF YOU CAN DO IT. If you're not the guy for the job, you have no business accepting the challenge in the first place. In the last two years, I've seen him score 2 and miss 2 penalties (missed against Bayern and Brazil, scored against Portugal and Italy - 3 of those were shootouts). Surely there were other more logical choices tonight. If either of Xabi or Fabregas were present, one of them would have probably taken it, but again, Xavi was there... so? I'd think Xavi and even Torres or Iniesta would be ahead of Ramos.

 

[DonAndres]

Definitely not Torres. He's missed more penalties than he's scored.

Although there were much more logical options to take it. Xavi, Navas, Pedro, and maybe even Pique could've been ahead of Ramos in the pecking order.