Xavi Hernández

[khorne]

Tell me one thing you honestly believe even for a moment that Tata would be backed to bench Xavi like Mou and Ancoletti were backed to bench Iker?

Why would tata need backing to bench a player and from whom? that's what i've been trying to say, influence and legendary status are all good and well, but when push comes to shove, xavi is a player like any other. I'm just saying that, because people here blame xavi himself for the amount of time he is playing, while i don't see how he has any say in that matter.
But by all means, i'm no expert on how things are done in barca, maybe i'm to naive here, and xavi actually can waltz in there and change the line up of the game. i just find it very hard to believe, from what common sense tells me.

@flavia, that is disgraceful, and i feel bad for tata. And while i fully agree that tata has been a coach with a weaker standing than let's say pep from the beginning, what i have trouble accepting is that xavi would be such a disrespectful bastard to exploit a situation like that to get his own way, or that players like puyol, valdes or iniesta would silently stand aside and let it happen. if that's true, that'd be the crowning disappointment in a season of huge blows.

 

[Flavia]

Why would tata need backing to bench a player and from whom? that's what i've been trying to say, influence and legendary status are all good and well, but when push comes to shove, xavi is a player like any other. I'm just saying that, because people here blame xavi himself for the amount of time he is playing, while i don't see how he has any say in that matter.
But by all means, i'm no expert on how things are done in barca, maybe i'm to naive here, and xavi actually can waltz in there and change the line up of the game. i just find it very hard to believe, from what common sense tells me.

@flavia, that is disgraceful, and i feel bad for tata. And while i fully agree that tata has been a coach with a weaker standing than let's say pep from the beginning, what i have trouble accepting is that xavi would be such a disrespectful bastard to exploit a situation like that to get his own way, or that players like puyol, valdes or iniesta would silently stand aside and let it happen. if that's true, that'd be the crowning disappointment in a season of huge blows.

Iniesta also said in an interview he was fully behind Tata, but also said the way Barça plays in unnegotiable. I don't think Xavi would go to Tata and make demands, but people talk. All that added pressure over Tata, who wasn't dealing well with it from the beginning.
There's no way to know what is going on, but Puyol announcent of leaving, for instance, was at a very innappropriate time, imo. I think he should had waited until the end of the season. Valdes was already leaving, things were not going well... I still wonder why he chose to do it back then.

With mess after mess, and with the tragic loss of Tito, I think it's safe to say the enviroment at can Barça is not very good, and it's been like that for months.

 

[footyfan]

Nope because Xavi doesn't need bodyguards like Pirlo, Pirlo flourishes at Juventus because the team is built around him with movement everywhere. In Barcelona Xavi is not any longer, Pirlo was ineffective in his last years at Milan because we built around a static Ronaldinho followed by a static Ibrahimovic, so he looked fodder and finished. But it was proven untrue, exactly the same as Xavi.

But Pirlo struggles very much when teams put a lot of pressure (despite the team being built around him with movement everywhere). It's the same with Xavi who can't handle high-pressure teams anymore. He gets unnaturally dispossessed, doesn't get back in time and generally does fuck all defensively. And as a complete aside, he also is too slow to make a through pass nowadays when there is good movement.

I agree that Xavi would perform better with more movement, but that doesn't change the fact that he's declined a fair bit individually.

 

[Andrew M]

At least he actually runs. (Unlike some)

 

[footyfan]

At least he actually runs. (Unlike some)

Haha true, but he's been better in the past few games though, that's why he's getting the goals again and creating all those chances.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

He gets unnaturally dispossessed

I believe the appropriate phrase, as the English would say, referring to the statement above, is "Bollocks."

This season, dispossessed about *once* every 2 games he plays; turnovers, about the same. So, about 1 time per game, an opponent gets the ball off Xavi. From my recall, it's usually when another player is in trouble and knocks a ball hopefully in Xavi's general direction.

Stats:

Dispossessed
- Being tackled by an opponent without attempting to dribble past them
Turnover
- Loss of possession due to a mistake/poor control
Dribbled
- Being dribbled past by an opponent without winning a tackle

Xavi
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/2302/Show/Xavi
La Liga
Games: 26(2)
Dispossessed: 15 [0.5 per game]
Turnovers: 17 [0.6 per game]
Was dribbled: 10 [0.4 per game]

Champions League
Games: 9(1)
Dispossessed: 6 [0.6 per game]
Turnovers: 3 [0.3 per game]
Was dribbled: 1 [0.1 per game]

For comparison:

Busquets (who plays as a deeper pivot than Xavi)
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/44721/Show/Sergio-Busquets
La Liga
Games: 28(2)
Dispossessed: 14 [0.5 per game]
Turnovers: 14 [0.5 per game]
Was dribbled: 35 [1.2 per game]

Iniesta (who attacks more)
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/9486/Show/Andrs-Iniesta
La Liga
Games: 25(8)
Dispossessed: 22 [0.7 per game]
Turnovers: 27 [0.8 per game]
Was dribbled: 10 [0.3 per game]

Cesc
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/8040/Show/Francesc-Fbregas
La Liga
Games: 26(8)
Dispossessed: 27 [0.8 per game]
Turnovers: 31 [0.9 per game]
Was dribbled: 26 [0.8 per game]

#JustKeepingItReal

 

[footyfan]

I believe the appropriate phrase, as the English would say, referring to the post above, is "Jamdav."

 

[CatalinR10]

 

[Paganinisrvnge]

He used to get dispossessed like five times a season.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

He used to get dispossessed like five times a season.

Are you *Rrrreally* going to make me resort to facts?

This is actually his best record for dispossession in the past 5 years on record at WhoScored.

La Liga
Season-------DPG----TPG
2013-2014---0.5-----0.6
2012-2013---0.7-----1.0
2011-2012---0.8-----0.7
2010-2011---1.4-----0.6
2009-2010---1.4-----1.3

So you're (um, what's the word I'm looking for?)...wrong. If anything, Xavi is more untouchable than ever.

But let's speculate as to why his numbers are improving. Quite likely for the same reason his through balls are diminishing- because many more opponents sit deep with little space between the lines, and no longer come out to challenge. Therefore, in most games, he has more time and space, and is thus less likely to be in situations to lose the ball. It's what the more observant posters have remarked in the Forum before- it's not so much that Barça players' skills have suddenly diminished, but rather that few opponents in recent years play open games where Barça can wreak the kind of havoc it did more frequently in past years.

Now, of course, people may have other reasons they want Xavi out (like, he's ooooooold, so very oooooold; for myself, the only thing I'd like to change is for Neymar to be given a shot at right-footed free kicks). But, let's be frank- most of what people are saying here about what they see on the field is pretty much in their own heads. Saying Xavi is getting "unnaturally dispossessed" is akin to seeing Xavi drink a beer and then claiming he is a diehard alcoholic.

#JustKeepingItReal

 

[Paganinisrvnge]

You are teaching serious levels of delusion. I'm always one to listen to stats but some of us here have watched a lot of matches over the years and its clear to the naked eye that Xavi is not the same player. I'm not sure how dispossession stats are calculated but Xavi is more easily bullied off the ball lately and the worst thing is that when he does lose it, he never has a chance of winning it back if the opponent is half decent. Him and Iniesta got destroyed by Bayern last season and then overrun again by Atletico in the champions league. Busquets is awesome but he's not perfect so he can't be the only defensive force in midfield.

 

[Zincubus]

You are teaching serious levels of delusion. I'm always one to listen to stats but some of us here have watched a lot of matches over the years and its clear to the naked eye that Xavi is not the same player. I'm not sure how dispossession stats are calculated but Xavi is more easily bullied off the ball lately and the worst thing is that when he does lose it, he never has a chance of winning it back if the opponent is half decent. Him and Iniesta got destroyed by Bayern last season and then overrun again by Atletico in the champions league. Busquets is awesome but he's not perfect so he can't be the only defensive force in midfield.

Chelsea's Mastic looks an interesting player !

 

[Lomar1o]

Are you *Rrrreally* going to make me resort to facts?

This is actually his best record for dispossession in the past 5 years on record at WhoScored.

La Liga
Season-------DPG----TPG
2013-2014---0.5-----0.6
2012-2013---0.7-----1.0
2011-2012---0.8-----0.7
2010-2011---1.4-----0.6
2009-2010---1.4-----1.3

So you're (um, what's the word I'm looking for?)...wrong. If anything, Xavi is more untouchable than ever.

But let's speculate as to why his numbers are improving. Quite likely for the same reason his through balls are diminishing- because many more opponents sit deep with little space between the lines, and no longer come out to challenge. Therefore, in most games, he has more time and space, and is thus less likely to be in situations to lose the ball. It's what the more observant posters have remarked in the Forum before- it's not so much that Barça players' skills have suddenly diminished, but rather that few opponents in recent years play open games where Barça can wreak the kind of havoc it did more frequently in past years.

Now, of course, people may have other reasons they want Xavi out (like, he's ooooooold, so very oooooold; for myself, the only thing I'd like to change is for Neymar to be given a shot at right-footed free kicks). But, let's be frank- most of what people are saying here about what they see on the field is pretty much in their own heads. Saying Xavi is getting "unnaturally dispossessed" is akin to seeing Xavi drink a beer and then claiming he is a diehard alcoholic.

#JustKeepingItReal

i have a pretty good explanation for why he's losing less balls year after year. because he's lost the spark, nowadays he plays with his mind and not with his heart. because he thinks too much and tries to play it safe, because his experience is making him calculate things. because when you're young you risk, when you're older you also have experience and sometimes that very experience doesn't allow you to go farther than a particular mark you set for yourself. that's why xavi became a sideway passer. he doesn't GO FOR IT (!!!) anymore. hence better statistics, better passing accuracy, less percentage of being dispossessed. i want xavi to sit on the bench because he doesn't provide individuality anymore, no spark, no hunger. just experience. so the way our opponents play isn't the only reason xavi's not doing through balls anymore, the main reason is that he isn't risking shit anymore. xavi is overdoing with his 'smart' play. he should think less and act more, which he can't because he's experienced now, and that's a psychological barrier. we do not need that kind of safety in the midfield, we have more than enough players who can play it smart and effectively at the same time. i wish we had a daredevil like thiago. we should've NEVER sold him. and i'm not saying that thiago should've replaced xavi, because he's nothing like xavi, but he could've played instead of xavi and be himself and be more useful.

 

[Andrew M]

Chelsea's Mastic looks an interesting player !

Matic has the passing ability of an aged donkey on stilts.

 

[Zincubus]

Matic has the passing ability of an aged donkey on stilts.

He's been fantastic for Chelsea . Sure he doesn't pass like Xavi but who does . He's skilful , fast , strong , combative and good in the air . Somebody said we were missing a payer like Keita .