Xavi Hernández

[BarcaOG]

well as long as Benz continues carrying Real wolfe either has to accept the massive L or play it off by 'accepting' it ironically

its a clever face-saving strategy.

it would be like me becoming a born-again Messi fan if he started dropping hattricks

 

[vegitot]

It is inevitable he arrives and I absolutely believe sooner is better than later - he should know early so that he can be involved with discussions on player movements as well

There are no guarantees in life but equipping yourself as best as possible. What Xavi lacks in coaching/management experience, is shared by the greatest coach of our generation who is also a Catalan La Masia midfielder + blaugrana through & through

I only am confident that we will need to buckle up once again with Xavi as our coach, beautiful winning football will be returning

Before that he should stop losing in AFC Champion league.

 

[Windhook]

it would be like me becoming a born-again Messi fan if he started dropping hattricks

Have you ever been a Messi fan?

 

[BarcaOG]

Have you ever been a Messi fan?

until the roma debacle i was.

 

[Vilarrubi]

Wasn’t someone on here saying Xavi didn’t pass forward that well a while back....

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

Wasn’t someone on here saying Xavi didn’t pass forward that well a while back....

Unbeliavable stuff

 

[Bobo32]

Wasn?t someone on here saying Xavi didn?t pass forward that well a while back....

I do not know if you are thinking about me, if so:

I never said that he didn't progress the ball well
I absolutely did not say that he didn't progress the ball a lot in absolute numbers.
I never even said that he didn't make a lot of through balls in absolute numbers per game

What I did say was he played VERY conservatively and securely, playing very few speculative passes.
(but I would even bet that he made more speculative passes than many players, in absolute numbers, as he had the ball a lot and played weaker opponents, often leading by a lot)

What these numbers tell you is that he played on average 10,9 forward passes per game
How many passes, in total, did he average per game?
I think it's over 100.
If so, about 1/10 passes he made were deemed as "progressive passes"
That is 9/10 passes that is not progressing play...

How many passes in total did Ozil, Totti, Pirlo or Fabregas make on average?

 

[Porque]

Javier Pasture and Ever Banega. Now there's two players who Could of done so much more In their careers.

I know Banega had that great run with Sevilla but was always a talent I really rated.

 

[Bobo32]

Javier Pasture and Ever Banega. Now there's two players who Could of done so much more In their careers.

I know Banega had that great run with Sevilla but was always a talent I really rated.

Pastore was very hyped once again just a couple years back, right? A nice player although not really top, top class I think.
Banega was very talented but lacking a bit in consistency I guess? Also had a few strange things happening off the pitch

I had another favourite argentinian playmaker that didn't amount to so much in the end - Andres d'Alessandro. I guess it must've been at the olympics in 2004 where he impressed me so much.

 

[Morten]

Pastore was very hyped once again just a couple years back, right? A nice player although not really top, top class I think.
Banega was very talented but lacking a bit in consistency I guess? Also had a few strange things happening off the pitch

I had another favourite argentinian playmaker that didn't amount to so much in the end - Andres d'Alessandro. I guess it must've been at the olympics in 2004 where he impressed me so much.

Such an FM-legend, 05/06, i think?

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

Pep's Barca's style of play was to specifically NOT rush the ball forward but instead circulate the ball to keep shifting the point of attack until an opening was found in the defense through which to progress an attack (according to De Bruyne, that was Pep's instructions at halftime vs PSG last week- don't rush the ball forward, be more patient). And that circulation was often at a fast pace which greatly increased the number of non-progressive passes per minute.

Xavi viewed his role as not looking for a player to pass to but as looking for space. He wasn't just looking for a pass to progress the attack but for the area in which one of his teammates could progress the attack. I bet if there was such a statistic (how many passes led to progressive passes) one would also see Xavi dominating.

Bottom line: yes, it is a non-speculative style of play, BUT it actually led to more successful attacks rather than less. By holding the ball longer, the number of progressive passes actually increases, and as well as the number of successful attacks.

I do not know if you are thinking about me, if so:

I never said that he didn't progress the ball well
I absolutely did not say that he didn't progress the ball a lot in absolute numbers.
I never even said that he didn't make a lot of through balls in absolute numbers per game

What I did say was he played VERY conservatively and securely, playing very few speculative passes.
(but I would even bet that he made more speculative passes than many players, in absolute numbers, as he had the ball a lot and played weaker opponents, often leading by a lot)

What these numbers tell you is that he played on average 10,9 forward passes per game
How many passes, in total, did he average per game?
I think it's over 100.
If so, about 1/10 passes he made were deemed as "progressive passes"
That is 9/10 passes that is not progressing play...

How many passes in total did Ozil, Totti, Pirlo or Fabregas make on average?

 

[Porque]

Pastore was very hyped once again just a couple years back, right? A nice player although not really top, top class I think.
Banega was very talented but lacking a bit in consistency I guess? Also had a few strange things happening off the pitch

I had another favourite argentinian playmaker that didn't amount to so much in the end - Andres d'Alessandro. I guess it must've been at the olympics in 2004 where he impressed me so much.

I enjoyed his career swansong at Portsmouth. Another player who had the talent to be much more than he achieved.

 

[Bobo32]

Such an FM-legend, 05/06, i think?

Maybe!
There were a few argentinian FM-legends in the #10 spot 10 years or so later when I returned to playing FM for a few years - Tomas Martinez and Guido Vadala. I don't think they made any real mark IRL though?
Strange that they had both Aimar and Riquelme, Ortega and so on... Ibagaza! And now almost none of that style that I'm aware of, Pastore being the closest the last 10 years I guess.

 

[Bobo32]

Pep's Barca's style of play was to specifically NOT rush the ball forward but instead circulate the ball to keep shifting the point of attack until an opening was found in the defense through which to progress an attack (according to De Bruyne, that was Pep's instructions at halftime vs PSG last week- don't rush the ball forward, be more patient). And that circulation was often at a fast pace which greatly increased the number of non-progressive passes per minute.

Xavi viewed his role as not looking for a player to pass to but as looking for space. He wasn't just looking for a pass to progress the attack but for the area in which one of his teammates could progress the attack. I bet if there was such a statistic (how many passes led to progressive passes) one would also see Xavi dominating.

Bottom line: yes, it is a non-speculative style of play, BUT it actually led to more successful attacks rather than less. By holding the ball longer, the number of progressive passes actually increases, and as well as the number of successful attacks.

Of course! I should probably include any time I talk about Xavi that I rate him as the GOAT mc...

 

[Morten]

Maybe!
There were a few argentinian FM-legends in the #10 spot 10 years or so later when I returned to playing FM for a few years - Tomas Martinez and Guido Vadala. I don't think they made any real mark IRL though?
Strange that they had both Aimar and Riquelme, Ortega and so on... Ibagaza! And now almost none of that style that I'm aware of, Pastore being the closest the last 10 years I guess.

I quit playing FM around 2013 or so, so i wouldnt know much about that(just lost interest, i guess).
Aimar i remember well, also an FM-legend, while Riquelme was a great player IRL too.

Pastore didnt live up to the hype, but he was quite decent at times for PSG, if i recall(and plays for Roma now), so overall not bad.