Xavi Hernández

[DonAK]

https://twitter.com/AlexTruica/status/1469646953659215873

Xavi: Bar?a "have lost automatisms and habits". Bar?a has to improve "tactically, technically, physically, psychologically"

 

[Gari]

Xavi: "I have analyzed and watched the Bayern game again. I have the feeling that if we understand the game a little more we are not so far from what we want.I have the feeling that it is a psychological issue and not a physical one.I am encouraging them to dare and be brave."This is what is required of the coach: analysis and problem solving. Although I disagree, physically we are also bad. But he is Mister.

 

[ajnotkeith]

I like how he said that our players don't understand what it means to play for this club, it's very well worded, great summary of how everyone in the squad except Braithwaite, Araujo, Vidal (when he was here), De Jong, they look like they are about to cry every time they play against a stronger opponent, they are okay with losing. I think Xavi should just start unrealistically demanding trainings, and the ones who cannot keep up, they will bounce from this club themselves, those amigos feelings won't be hurt.

He's talking to his players assuming they are good capable players and that if they gave everything they could outplay Bayern. Motivation is not the issue, simply that the 11 out there was not good enough. If you put a second division player (Mingueza) against Bayern it doesn't matter how hard they try they will not be any good.

At Al Sadd where his team was a million times better than the rest of the crop that may have been the case but it isn't here. If you put players who are simply not good enough, they will not perform against a team like Bayern


The issue is being misidentified.

 

[ajnotkeith]

He put second division level Mingueza (who is a natural CB, and only filled in at RB because we had nobody else) at LB when Alba went out and inexplicably Araujo, a great CB but known for having very poor technique, at RB, and started Lenglet over Garcia. When your lineup is already not up to scratch, playing players in positions they don't play makes it even worse, especially a player as crucial as Araujo.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

He put second division level Mingueza (who is a natural CB, and only filled in at RB because we had nobody else) at LB when Alba went out and inexplicably Araujo, a great CB but known for having very poor technique, at RB, and started Lenglet over Garcia. When your lineup is already not up to scratch, playing players in positions they don't play makes it even worse, especially a player as crucial as Araujo.

What has Garcia shown in games against Bayern, Benfica and Bilbao that justifies to start him even over Lenglet? He was abysmal against their pacey forwards and the weakest link in an overall bad defense.

 

[Bobo32]

2011 Barca didn't lack intensity, that's what made them so great. Remember many coaches highlighting exactly that, how you'd only run after the ball vs Barca and the moment you got it the pressure was crazy, giving teams no time to breath.

And if it was not "the rare moment you got it" but "all the time when you got it" as it has been automatically when Barcelona used players like Depay, it would be impossible to pressure as crazy. It all goes hand in hand. You have to keep the ball a lot and/or lose it in the correct spots in order to be able to press like crazy for 90 minutes.

I see that Xavi makes the same analysis after having watched the game again, it is primarily psychological and tactical rather than physical. The chimera I talk about is that it is not about getting higher VO2max, quicker or stronger players, but about knowing what to do and when, as a unit.
I hadn't read or heard anything Xavi had said, but it is a bit striking that he pinpoints the habits and automatisms, just like me. I think he is correct, let us see if he can correct the team.

 

[ajnotkeith]

What has Garcia shown in games against Bayern, Benfica and Bilbao that justifies to start him even over Lenglet? He was abysmal against their pacey forwards and the weakest link in an overall bad defense.

He was and I have been a critic of him very much on here but it is obvious Lenglet is not prepared to play a game like that.

The changes of Araujo and Mingueza were the worst ones in my opinion and when Alba went out you can see it very clearly had an impact as second division player Mingueza was put in out of position.

 

[Bobo32]

What has Garcia shown in games against Bayern, Benfica and Bilbao that justifies to start him even over Lenglet? He was abysmal against their pacey forwards and the weakest link in an overall bad defense.

Didn't Araujo play rather well from there? I thought it worked OK, I would never come up with it myself, but Porque did!
Mingueza had a very bad game, he shouldn't play wide and shouldn't play to the left, and shouldn't play against Bayern. A shame Barcelona don't have for example Grimaldo, Miranda or Cucurella to fill in in cases like this.

 

[serghei]

I like how Xavi talks about team-related issues (he spouts a lot of PC stuff when asked about individual players), but I want actions.

 

[serghei]

What has Garcia shown in games against Bayern, Benfica and Bilbao that justifies to start him even over Lenglet? He was abysmal against their pacey forwards and the weakest link in an overall bad defense.

To be honest, none of our CBs are actually top class. Not a single one. A top CB is desperately needed. The back 4 and top 3 all have just one definite starter for the future: Ansu Fati. 1 more big hope but not quite a sure thing in Araujo. And some faint maybes like Garcia and Dest.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

He was and I have been a critic of him very much on here but it is obvious Lenglet is not prepared to play a game like that.

The changes of Araujo and Mingueza were the worst ones in my opinion and when Alba went out you can see it very clearly had an impact as second division player Mingueza was put in out of position.

There is no clear favourite between Garcia and Lenglet. They are imo pretty similar in their strenghts and weaknesses. For Garcia speaks his "youth", for Lenglet his experience. I doubt Garcia would've done significantly better im Munich.

Didn't like his decision with Mingueza either. It was a stupid thing to do. It would've been a brave move to throw Balde in and I always prefer playing players in their natural position.

Didn't Araujo play rather well from there? I thought it worked OK, I would never come up with it myself, but Porque did!
Mingueza had a very bad game, he shouldn't play wide and shouldn't play to the left, and shouldn't play against Bayern. A shame Barcelona don't have for example Grimaldo, Miranda or Cucurella to fill in in cases like this.

Against Bayern? Araujo did okay. I get why Xavi tried him there as he is the only one in the squad to keep Davies' pace reasonably under control, but one could see in little details that Araujo isn't used to play RB. He was too reactive rather than proactive which would have been needed to keep up with Davies, but he did definitely better than Dest. But the question here is if we can afford to miss Araujo in the center.

No problem to play Araujo as RB every now and then, but his future lies in the center for many reasons. The good thing is that Alves will be registered in a few weeks should Dest not turn his fate around. Good to have an option there, because Dest needs competition and Roberto doesn't seem to provide that given how injury-prone he has become.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

To be honest, none of our CBs are actually top class. Not a single one. A top CB is desperately needed. The back 4 and top 3 all have just one definite starter for the future: Ansu Fati. 1 more big hope but not quite a sure thing in Araujo. And some faint maybes like Garcia and Dest.

I know. Too much quantity, too less quality. Apparently Garcia has hired some external coaches to work on his weaknesses, so maybe there is hope for him.
But to be honest, if I was the club, I would try to find a partner with experience to complement perfectly with Araujo. Of course he has his question marks too, first and foremost his proneness to get injured, but he ticks many boxes to become a top-class CB and is the surest bet from the young CBs we have in the squad.

Can't come up with a name that would be said reinforcement and there is also the problem with the necessary money and how expensive the real deals are. I don't watch much Serie A, but I see Milan is doing well. What about Romagnoli? Just mentioning him because there were some rumours about him last summer and looks like he still hasn't extended his contract. Is he any good? He is a left-footer, which is already a plus if you are looking for a partner for Araujo.

 

[clemente]

He's talking to his players assuming they are good capable players and that if they gave everything they could outplay Bayern. Motivation is not the issue, simply that the 11 out there was not good enough. If you put a second division player (Mingueza) against Bayern it doesn't matter how hard they try they will not be any good.

At Al Sadd where his team was a million times better than the rest of the crop that may have been the case but it isn't here. If you put players who are simply not good enough, they will not perform against a team like Bayern


The issue is being misidentified.

Who told you Minguezza is a 2nd division player? If B team player playing means he is second division player, I recommend you not looking into where Musiala came from. Or if you think someone playing bad means he is 2nd division player, then our whole squad are 2nd division players.

 

[Devils]

It's pretty clear.

Busi, MAtS, Roberto, Pique and Alba all need to go. Even if it means through contract termination. They are all physiologically broken and bring down the rest of the team (eventhough the others are crap as well).

The solution: Bring in some nasty aggressive mofos and thugs who wont back down from opposition I'm talking about players like Rudiger, Pepe, L Suarez, Ramos, Diego Costa like players.

 

[ajnotkeith]

Who told you Minguezza is a 2nd division player? If B team player playing means he is second division player, I recommend you not looking into where Musiala came from. Or if you think someone playing bad means he is 2nd division player, then our whole squad are 2nd division players.

I have watched him in the B team and first team, and he did not stand out in the B team and has been shit in the first team except for one decent period under Koeman.

I genuinely believe he will end up being at best a Getafe level starter, and he plays a big part for us right now. That's bad.