Xavi Hernández

[KingMessi]

Xavi is seriously considering offers from Qatar. He will decide after the World Cup. Luis Enrique wants Koke to replace him. [rac1]

Xavi pls don't leave.

 

[Barcaman]

Xavi still has fire in him. One more season, at least. Let Rafinha learn from the master.
Lucho said he wants possession football so letting Xavi go doesn't compute.

 

[abual3bed1]

Yes, It wouldn't be logical to let him go in such transitional period at the club + losing 2 captains already all in one summer.

 

[footyfan]

Will there ever be a midfielder better than him?

 

[Ode to Django]

Dominated football for a long time. Big reason Barcelona/Spain were top dogs for so long, see if he can lock it down for Spain again, pretty confident in him doing so.

The finished talk is rubbish

 

[footyfan]

Never seen a midfielder dominate a game like he did in this one:

 

[Maria]

Dominated football for a long time. Big reason Barcelona/Spain were top dogs for so long, see if he can lock it down for Spain again, pretty confident in him doing so.

The finished talk is rubbish

He is not finished, but because he played at a high level for such a long time it's difficult for some to see the current Xavi.

Never seen a midfielder dominate a game like he did in this one:

He was amazing that year.

 

[Sumlit]

Best midfielder I ever saw.

Look how quick he used to be, people forget Xavi was like a jackrabbit on steroids moving around. But always in control. Always the player with the most composure on the field. Don't know how he did it.

6-2 Bernabeu Clasico.

 

[Irish_Cules]

This performance as well. He didn't have a great tournament and then just completely dominated the final. I remember during the tournament thinking that he was on the way down and then he goes and gives one of the greatest midfield performances of all time. He doesn't have the legs to do it as consistently anymore but he is still capable of performances like these.

 

[footyfan]

He can still boss it if Barca get a striker.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

What does a striker have to do with it?

 

[footyfan]

GOAT video on the net along with the Arsenal one:

[video=vimeo;14261814]http://vimeo.com/14261814[/video]

 

[footyfan]

What does a striker have to do with it?

He will have an actual target in the front making good runs. Yes I know that for the past year he has been ignoring runs or is just not fast enough to release the pass like used to in previous seasons. But the more choices and chances he has, the better he'll look. He basically just needs more movement, or atleast cleverer movement. He's not getting that consistently anymore. Sanchez's off-the-ball runs were amazing in 12/13, not so much this season. And his movement is of the very obvious type.

Xavi should go to another club and profit like Pirlo.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

Yeah, I think not necessarily a striker but more movement is something I think everyone in our attack can profit from, it will be a lot more difficult to coordinate properly but if Neymar, Messi, and Alexis all have freedom to go wherever they want, and with Alba and Alves marauding down the flanks providing extra width the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, and Cesc cry will have a field day picking them out.

 

[Sumlit]

He will have an actual target in the front making good runs. Yes I know that for the past year he has been ignoring runs or is just not fast enough to release the pass like used to in previous seasons. But the more choices and chances he has, the better he'll look. He basically just needs more movement, or atleast cleverer movement. He's not getting that consistently anymore. Sanchez's off-the-ball runs were amazing in 12/13, not so much this season. And his movement is of the very obvious type.

Xavi should go to another club and profit like Pirlo.

You can just make the team play a bit more centrally and have the current players return to making more diagonal runs into space.

IMO the biggest effect a strike is going to have on Xavi, and the rest of the players and the team for that matter, is that a striker is going to unclog the middle of the field. Right now the middle of the field is too congested and there is little space to maneuver. With Xavi's loss of mobility, this makes it harder for him to be as impactful.

A striker would pin back and keep those CBs honest, and let the rest of the midfield have to tangle with both Messi and Iniesta, giving Xavi a lot more valuable space to operate. Opponents midfield would also not be able to go out onto the field too much because that then creates a big gap between the midfield and those pinned CBs keeping an eye on the striker, gap which could be really exploited.