Xavi on Mourinho and Bayern

[ryuken]

Still talking bout possession i see, ok. Other would happily give you the possession if they can smack a goal up yours after every chance they get.

 

[utility73]

On the pitch Xavi is (still) a Maestro but his interviews have always been lacking a bit in terms of substance and humility, nothing new here.

 

[Jelboo]

I honestly wish Xavi and Iniesta would sometimes just shut up. On the field they are masters, but off the field they come across as arrogant and sore losers. We got humiliated fair and square. Accept it and move on. We are not some holy club of angels fighting against evil, we're a football club like all others. Spanish football is not world heritage, it's fairly young, in fact, and not as established as other world powers.

 

[Maria]

FC Barcelona midfielder and Spain international, Xavi Hernandez, spoke for Catalan newspaper Sport.

"We have both fallen two consecutive years in the semi-finals and that is not normal. This year the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey wore us down. They were very hard. If we continue like this it is inevitable we will arrive worse than them in April or May."

There were 4 weeks between the first and the second leg of the CDR SFs, 4 weeks between the 2nd leg of the CDR SF and Bayern-Barca and 8 days between the 2 legs of the CL SFs(plus a lead of 15 points over RM at the end of January). Last season, for example, we played 6 more games than RM and had to play vs Chelsea(twice) and vs RM in 6 days(while RM had 2 more days of rest between the games against Bayern)..but the one who was complaining about the calendar was Mou, not Pep. So I don't understand why Xavi doesn't appreciate Mou more, when they have so much in common.

Didn't he also say recently that he feels well enough to play a game every 3 days? Seems a bit odd to say that and then complain about too many matches.

He also said this in the same interview:
"Playing less? People say it for 3-4 years now. Can't keep going forever, but now I feel good and I want to compete a few more years."

I don't think there's too much contradiction between the two statements. Playing every three days is just reality for most of the season and that can't be changed. However, if they want teams to be somewhat fresh at a certain part of the season, they should relax the schedule before that. For example, in England, don't they have bigger share of the matches earlier on in the season? Meanwhile in Germany they have less matches in the league, and that allows them more freedom in scheduling.

You are right, but it's strange that he's talking about this now, when Bayern and BVB have the best teams in the world. It didn't seems to bother him 2,3 or 4 years ago.

How about admitting our defense has been poor, pressing went to shit and no scorers have been consistent apart from Leo.

Even our midfield got dominated against Bayern..

I honestly wish Xavi and Iniesta would sometimes just shut up. On the field they are masters, but off the field they come across as arrogant and sore losers. We got humiliated fair and square. Accept it and move on. We are not some holy club of angels fighting against evil, we're a football club like all others. Spanish football is not world heritage, it's fairly young, in fact, and not as established as other world powers.

What are you talking about? Iniesta doesn't have anything to do with Xavi's speach(who isn't better than Mou's sometimes) and has always admitted when the oponent was better than us and he even said that we have to make some necessary changes after the tie against Bayern. Also yesterday he said this in El Pais:
"Ellos llegaron en plenitud y nos pasaron por encima. Cuando lo hemos hecho nosotros y han dicho 'que buenos son estos', nos gustó oírlo, así que es justo reconocerlo, fueron mejores, hasta el año que viene. Punto."

 

[Aryagorn]

Xavi has definitely got a point... I don't understand why he is being named a sore-loser. He did give Bayern the due credit

 

[barcanuck]

Super coppa and Copa Del Rey should be 1 leg untl the semis of the Copa. But Super coppa to be 2 legs, I don't think any other big league has that.

 

[Maria]

Super coppa and Copa Del Rey should be 1 leg untl the semis of the Copa. But Super coppa to be 2 legs, I don't think any other big league has that.

No other league has the TV deal of La Liga..so when Xavi or anyone else from RM or Barca will talk about this I will believe that their concern for the state of La Liga is real.

 

[Barcafire]

I have to agree with Xavi, playing Real Madrid 4-6 times a year is exhausting. If it were only twice a year in La Liga, it's fine, but it seems we tend to play them either in the Copa del Rey and/or CL too. Even for a fan, that's super exhausting. I think that's all he's saying. And to lose to Real 3 times this past year really took that extra confidence out of us this year. Plus Bayern this year were far above all the teams in the Bundesliga. Almost zero competition. It was basically a one horse race. Though I know we could of said that about La Liga too, but it seem for a while that Real Madrid and At. Madrid were both close at one point. Anyway, we all make rationalize our daily actions, wrong or right.

 

[Barcafire]

Xavi has definitely got a point... I don't understand why he is being named a sore-loser. He did give Bayern the due credit

I agree.

 

[Barcilliant]

I have to agree with Xavi, playing Real Madrid 4-6 times a year is exhausting. If it were only twice a year in La Liga, it's fine, but it seems we tend to play them either in the Copa del Rey and/or CL too. Even for a fan, that's super exhausting. I think that's all he's saying. And to lose to Real 3 times this past year really took that extra confidence out of us this year. Plus Bayern this year were far above all the teams in the Bundesliga. Almost zero competition. It was basically a one horse race. Though I know we could of said that about La Liga too, but it seem for a while that Real Madrid and At. Madrid were both close at one point. Anyway, we all make rationalize our daily actions, wrong or right.

Dortmund and Bayern have had their fair share of encounters over the past 2 seasons. Xavi needs to zip it sometimes. Its great he hates to lose but Bayern made us look like overrated school kids. We have issues and until they're solved we are going to play second fiddle in the CL.

 

[Raed]

Xavi can't keep quite but what I always said was the scheduling of the damn fuckin' Copa always butts in between the Semi Final, as if the spanish FA does not want to see a spanish team in the final. They could ALWAYS reschedule the match but if Madrid and Barcelona are going at it in the semis and copa del rey semis, they simply won't throw away any match and both will exit the semis due to fatigue.

 

[AnfieldEd]

Or reduce copa to one match............

 

[Colin]

Does Xavi like Mourinho's football plans?

Does Germany have a rivalry of this intensity?

Is it normal for them to both lose in semifinals consecutively?

Did the copa del rey semi-finals not ware them down?

Would one game matches not give them more rest?

No? Oh. So everything he said is true?... Maybe stop whining so much about it then.