Xavi Hernández

[Flavia]

He can't start though, atleast not in big games as evidenced today. The game passed him by and he couldn't perform iniesta/rakitic's defensive duties. With busi in dm he was able to play his passing game a little more though. I think he should be used as he is now as a relief midfielder to end off games.

He played against psg. He can't play every 3 days. It wasn't very wise to start him, but Rakitic also needed a rest. Our midfield is thin, not much to do unfortunately.

 

[footyfan]

As expected. He CANNOT play against teams that press and create end to end games. Period. The game just ran by him because he has neither the speed, strength nor stamina at this point and his greatest allies - his teammates - are more interested in direct football (as they should be).

 

[Ritchie]

He played against psg. He can't play every 3 days. It wasn't very wise to start him, but Rakitic also needed a rest. Our midfield is thin, not much to do unfortunately.

Raki could have been rested on Tuesday against much weaker opponents with a rested Xavi starting.

 

[Icarium]

He could have had a much better performance if he came on as a sub. Well his start resulted in rest to rakitic and we won, so i won't complain. We can't start every match with same midfield, rotations will keep the squad fresh.

 

[Ursegor]

As expected. He CANNOT play against teams that press and create end to end games. Period. The game just ran by him because he has neither the speed, strength nor stamina at this point and his greatest allies - his teammates - are more interested in direct football (as they should be).

Generally that is a correct statement but not today. Today the game ran by him because Busquets can't play CM, Adriano is a pub player, Pique kept passing the ball to Valencia players and many players looked fatigued. I didn't see the game running by him in the 2nd half once the Busquets and Adriano problems were fixed and Pique stepped it up. There were similar chaotic games against far worse opponents without Xavi in the lineup (Celta not that long ago). Causation and correlation. One of the best games Barca played this season was away to Athletic Bilbao, a team that presses like maniacs. Xavi played the entire game and it was no problem at all.

 

[footyfan]

Generally that is a correct statement but not today. Today the game ran by him because Busquets can't play CM, Adriano is a pub player, Pique kept passing the ball to Valencia players and many players looked fatigued. I didn't see the game running by him in the 2nd half once the Busquets and Adriano problems were fixed and Pique stepped it up. There were similar chaotic games against far worse opponents without Xavi in the lineup (Celta not that long ago). Causation and correlation. One of the best games Barca played this season was away to Athletic Bilbao, a team that presses like maniacs. Xavi played the entire game and it was no problem at all.

Bar brief periods, I saw the game running by him in the 2nd half as well. I'm not denying that chaotic games happen without him too, infact I'm saying the complete opposite. Given this Barca's tendency to have chaotic games (I would say the coaching staff can reasonably predict which teams will give that type of game to Barca), they should not be playing Xavi from the start, because it's like playing with 1 less player.

I see the Bilbao game as the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Ursegor]

100 % positive the game in the 2nd half with Iniesta instead of Xavi would have went the same way. But instead of "game went past old Xavi" the narrative would have been "Iniesta showing once again why he has declined".

 

[footyfan]

Iniesta atm is not ideal either, but I believe he is better than Xavi defensively and would've been a better fit for this game. To me, it doesn't change the point of Xavi not being a good choice for these games. Of course, today he had to start because of Iniesta's injury - although it would've been interesting to see Rakitic-Busquets-Mascherano

 

[Leo_Messi]

500th league game and 31th Catalan derby game.

758th official game for the club as well.

 

[messi2140]

500th league game and 31th Catalan derby game.

758th official game for the club as well.

Will be so great if he were to leave with one more treble in his pocket.

 

[Flavia]

 

[Kohe321]

Congratulations Legend! And what a cameo he had, brought so much control to the team - the perfect substitution when we got reduced to 10 men. Fantastic performance.

I am repeating myself, but I really want Xavi to stay and retire here. He has shown how important he can still be to this team. He's Barca through and through and should never play anywhere else.

 

[Stric]

Xavi is still the boss whenever he enters the pitch. It's incredible how he influences the game. Too good to retire, too good for any pre-retirement league.

I would love to see him stay here and play 30-ish minutes or less whenever he can. He's old so he can't play 50 full games a season, but he still as skillful as any midfielder out there, it would be a waste not to use what he can offer.

 

[Leo_Messi]

Will be so great if he were to leave with one more treble in his pocket.

Indeed but I for once hope that he will not leave this summer. He still has 1-2 good seasons left on this level as a squad player. It has worked very well this season.

Xavi is still the boss whenever he enters the pitch. It's incredible how he influences the game. Too good to retire, too good for any pre-retirement league.

I would love to see him stay here and play 30-ish minutes or less whenever he can. He's old so he can't play 50 full games a season, but he still as skillful as any midfielder out there, it would be a waste not to use what he can offer.

The problem is his wages and the overall wage bill. He seems reluctant to lower his wage demands and the Qatari offer is almost irresistible financially speaking.

 

[hardyboy]

Congrats legend.