Xavi Hernández

[The Observer]

Meh. I've read countless times in here that people wanted Busquets and Song or Busquets and Mascherano to play in a double pivot. This was even suggested for the City away game. On top of that they also wanted Messi, who is sleepwalking 85 minutes of a match, to play in midfield instead of Iniesta + 3 strikers upfront.

 

[DonAndres]

Meh. I've read countless times in here that people wanted Busquets and Song or Busquets and Mascherano to play in a double pivot. This was even suggested for the City away game. On top of that they also wanted Messi, who is sleepwalking 85 minutes of a match, to play in midfield instead of Iniesta + 3 strikers upfront.

We should only use a double pivot as an in game shift to kill things off when in control. Busi-Song was destined to not succeed or actually work well, but I never pictured it being as big a fuckup as it was today. It was a failed experiment, simple as that.

 

[The Observer]

Well, I discussed just a couple of days ago that replacing one of Xavi or Iniesta with Song doesn't improve anything as Song is the inferior player in every possible department, be it technically, tactically, reading of the game, with the ball, without the ball - just about everything except physically fighting for second balls and winning aerial duels (although ironically he failed in just that yesterday ).

To be perfectly honest, it scares the shit out of me that Martino thought playing Alex freaking Song and letting Xavi sit on the bench for 90 minutes was going to win us the game in a stadium where we haven't won since 06/07. We had 0 midfield control over the game.

 

[Cule4life]

^ you should change your avatar to this Xavi one

 

[The Observer]

Wouldn't surprise me if we win every remaining game from now on. That was definitely the "shit just got real, time for me to take over the coaching" face.

 

[kostasgtc]

Well, I discussed just a couple of days ago that replacing one of Xavi or Iniesta with Song doesn't improve anything as Song is the inferior player in every possible department, be it technically, tactically, reading of the game, with the ball, without the ball - just about everything except physically fighting for second balls and winning aerial duels (although ironically he failed in just that yesterday ).

To be perfectly honest, it scares the shit out of me that Martino thought playing Alex freaking Song and letting Xavi sit on the bench for 90 minutes was going to win us the game in a stadium where we haven't won since 06/07. We had 0 midfield control over the game.

i totally agree to all your last posts but to answer for tata:
HE had to find a way to rest and protect xavi as he is 34 now.
he knew the team would suffer but qudogan is still in dortmund and veratti in psg.
maybe song can do the job in easy games but surely he is not good enough for top teams.
tata played that card and lost.simple as that....

 

[utility73]

In my opinion, Xavi AND Puyol were the most important players of the exceptional seasons of the recent past.
They were the heart and brain, THE core of the team.
Sadly it looks like that currently nobody even comes close to having the potential to someday being able to replace them.
Thiago had potential to be somewhat a replacement for Xavi, though his skill lend to a style in between of Xavi and Iniesta.
But thanks to bad management we let him go far to easily.
Piqué was a big talent but he is a joke without someone like Puyol constantly kicking his ass for not paying attention.

 

[Armando929]

Xavi's decline has been evident for a while now and many have not wanted to accept it. It's not 2009 anymore and people have refuse to let it go. There is no Xavi clone. Our style will evolve.

It's passed due time for Cesc to step in and partner Iniesta. This season has shown that.

I just wonder if Tata knows that.

 

[CatalinR10]

I think Xavi's face explains the match from our perspective.

,, We have posession , why aren't we winning "?

 

[kostasgtc]

Xavi's decline has been evident for a while now and many have not wanted to accept it. It's not 2009 anymore and people have refuse to let it go. There is no Xavi clone. Our style will evolve.

It's passed due time for Cesc to step in and partner Iniesta. This season has shown that.

I just wonder if Tata knows that.

please remind when we played with bushi-cesc-iniesta and 3 forwards formation in a really difficult game in the last 3 years and we played well.
i doubt you will find even one.
neither pep, tito or tata trust him in that position in difficult games even when xavi needed rest.
i think you refuse to see that cesc cannot fullfill xavi's role.
not with those players around him at least.

 

[CatalinR10]

Former Real Madrid player Raul tries to convince Barcelona midfielder Xavi (34) to join a club in Qatar after the World Cup. [as]

 

[barcanuck]

In my opinion, Xavi AND Puyol were the most important players of the exceptional seasons of the recent past.
They were the heart and brain, THE core of the team.
Sadly it looks like that currently nobody even comes close to having the potential to someday being able to replace them.
Thiago had potential to be somewhat a replacement for Xavi, though his skill lend to a style in between of Xavi and Iniesta.
But thanks to bad management we let him go far to easily.
Piqué was a big talent but he is a joke without someone like Puyol constantly kicking his ass for not paying attention.

Good post. Puyol was the heart and Xavi the engine. With both those pieces fading, it's not easy to replace intangibles.

 

[KingMessi]

Piqué was a big talent but he is a joke without someone like Puyol constantly kicking his ass for not paying attention.

This. Maybe if we get Kyriakos Papadopoluos or Benatia, they can kick Pique's ass when he's not focused.

 

[CatalinR10]

This. Maybe if we get Kyriakos Papadopoluos or Benatia, they can kick Pique's ass when he's not focused.

It won't work.

 

[The Observer]

That was some oldschool Xavi shit.