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LordLichtenstein
New member
Did you think Iniesta was poor against Rayo?
When he entered against PSG during the return game for the last 20 minutes ( wehre we won 3-1) he was MAGNIFICIENT, and was indeed behind our third goal if you pay close attention to it.
Xavi, in 2015, is still excellent, and he was superior to Iniesta for the majority of this season. My only concern with Xavi is not that he has technically declined because he hasn't. My only concern is that he cannot play at a high intensity for more than 65 minutes ( max 75 against "midtable/lowtable teams).
His performance against Rayo was bestial considering he is 35!
Xavi still has it, we should only pay attention on when, how and against whom we shoud use him. And yes, to me Xavi would be essentia against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, I simply can't see a midfield with Mascherano and Rakitic playing together in El Classico. That would be disastruous in my opinion !
I criticized Iniesta a lot, but he was excellent yesterday.
Dr. Pepper, I fully see your point but Xavi didn't decline, he became a new player.
He doesn't bring as much intensity, he may have lost a little bit of explosivity, but he is definitely more experienced.
It's really frightening to see that Xavi is extremely reactive and fluid in tight spaces and hardly makes any mistake.
Xavi's only issue --> fitness
I still haven't seen any decline in terms of technique. Xavi's a top player and is our third best technician behind Messi and Iniesta. But he's definitely the most intelligent and experienced player at Barca.
My biggest fear is to see Barca getting totally outplayed by Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, that would be a nightmare to e, a horror show. And I think Enrique knows that this might be a possibility if he doesn't make the right adjustments.
Anyway Visca Barca
He doesn't bring as much intensity, he may have lost a little bit of explosivity, but he is definitely more experienced.
It's really frightening to see that Xavi is extremely reactive and fluid in tight spaces and hardly makes any mistake.
Xavi's only issue --> fitness
I still haven't seen any decline in terms of technique. Xavi's a top player and is our third best technician behind Messi and Iniesta. But he's definitely the most intelligent and experienced player at Barca.
My biggest fear is to see Barca getting totally outplayed by Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, that would be a nightmare to e, a horror show. And I think Enrique knows that this might be a possibility if he doesn't make the right adjustments.
Anyway Visca Barca
I don't think anyone denies that he still is one of the best technically gifted footballers in the world. It is simply the case that he is no longer the best choice for the CM role in the big games.
This new Barca requires less emphasis on the midfield whose role is to get the ball to MSN as quickly as possible. Rakitic does this far better than Xavi since he has the technical ability and also the legs to get around the field which is vital in big games.
When we need to switch to a more possession based game then either Xavi can come on or Ivan can do it himself, its not as if he is bad at doing that.
The best example of this is the game against City where a player like Rakitic thrived due to his technical ability combined with his legs.
If you think that Masch - raki would be a disaster in the Clasico Xavi - Masch - Iniesta would be even worse. We were taken apart in the first Clasico with Busi instead of Masch, and Busi is one of our best players. Rakitic must start in the 'Xavi position' if we are to win.
This new Barca requires less emphasis on the midfield whose role is to get the ball to MSN as quickly as possible. Rakitic does this far better than Xavi since he has the technical ability and also the legs to get around the field which is vital in big games.
When we need to switch to a more possession based game then either Xavi can come on or Ivan can do it himself, its not as if he is bad at doing that.
The best example of this is the game against City where a player like Rakitic thrived due to his technical ability combined with his legs.
If you think that Masch - raki would be a disaster in the Clasico Xavi - Masch - Iniesta would be even worse. We were taken apart in the first Clasico with Busi instead of Masch, and Busi is one of our best players. Rakitic must start in the 'Xavi position' if we are to win.
Real will either let us play and try to counter-attack --> Rakitic needed
Real decides to put pressure on/outplay us --> Xavi needed
BUT
Without Busquets and Xavi, Real mechanically has a decided advantage over us in the midfield and could humiliate us.
1 - Real will have to win at Camp Nou, no way they lay back and wait for us during 90 minutes
2- I've never seen Rakitic cope well with pressure against great teams.
Anyway, we are only speculating, let's see what Enrique has in in his ind.
J
Jamie Cal
Guest
Actually, Ini was quite good yesterday, but his end product is still nowhere to be found largely. I would definitely put Xavi over him (and Raf/Sergi of course) when push comes to shove.
If Real come out of their shell then that even more reason to go with Rakitic. Just look at the match against Atletico (the 3-2 one at the Cauldron). No way on earth would we have won that if Xavi had been playing. The game just passes him by due to the sheer intensity of the game (I remember thinking that on a few other occasions as well). Compare that 3-2 game to the 1-0 from last seasons CL QF where Xavi was playing as a clear demonstration of that.
Its about playing to your strengths which the midfield no longer is for us. It has changed from being central to our play style to merely being a necessity to get the ball from the defence to MSN who are the ones that win us games.
You're also suggesting that Rakitic is technically inept which is just plain wrong. Yes he is not peak Xavi/Iniesta but that doesn't mean he can't pass a ball well and he is one of the best passers of a ball in our squad. Again see the City game where we were pinging it about like something from the golden era.
Xavi needs games where the play is almost solely conducted in the opposition half (we can no longer do that against the best teams) where he doesn't have to travel as far. Easy games at the Camp Nou allow us to see him still being majestic since we don't rely on his fitness.
Its about playing to your strengths which the midfield no longer is for us. It has changed from being central to our play style to merely being a necessity to get the ball from the defence to MSN who are the ones that win us games.
You're also suggesting that Rakitic is technically inept which is just plain wrong. Yes he is not peak Xavi/Iniesta but that doesn't mean he can't pass a ball well and he is one of the best passers of a ball in our squad. Again see the City game where we were pinging it about like something from the golden era.
Xavi needs games where the play is almost solely conducted in the opposition half (we can no longer do that against the best teams) where he doesn't have to travel as far. Easy games at the Camp Nou allow us to see him still being majestic since we don't rely on his fitness.
L
linetty
Guest
How in the world can one think Iniesta was poor yesterday? Did you actually watch the game?
LordLichtenstein
New member
I guess i'm not he only one. Linetty, why don't you go ahead and call Bojan the same names you called me yesterday? No? I thought so.
L
linetty
Guest
Match chats live their own rules. At worst you get banned from the chat not from the forum.
It's ridiculous to say Iniesta was poor as he was very involved and had some vintage dribbles & croquetas...best player on the pitch right up there with Xavi, Suarez & Pique (Messi was invisible but still managed to score a hat trick and give an assist, this guy is beyond any measurement).
It's ridiculous to say Iniesta was poor as he was very involved and had some vintage dribbles & croquetas...best player on the pitch right up there with Xavi, Suarez & Pique (Messi was invisible but still managed to score a hat trick and give an assist, this guy is beyond any measurement).
klc123
Member
Sorry, had to haha.
I didn't think Iniesta was poor, but sometimes I feel like i'm watching a different game from you guys.
I think this is the first time in a long time I felt Xavi played well and everyone seems to agree.
Last edited:
Kerrybai
New member
Sorry, had to haha.
I didn't think Iniesta was poor, but sometimes I feel like i'm watching a different game from you guys.
I think this is the first time in a long time I felt Xavi played well and everyone seems to agree.
It makes no difference if he played well though as the opposition do not represent that sort of team we struggle against, Rayo play suicidal football against us.
Xavi could be 45 and still look good against them.
Gohan
Super Saiyan
Does have a point here.
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