Xavi Hernandez has had experiences worth a lifetime for Barcelona against Manchester United. However, Thursday’s crucial Europa League game against Erik Ten Hag’s side at Camp Nou seems Blaugrana‘ in the near future, it will simply be another passionate, colorful set of photos for Xavi’s already thick scrapbook.
The Catalan saturnine made the first of 151 Champions League appearances at Old Trafford in a 3-3 draw with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side almost 25 years ago. He thought long and hard about accepting United’s offer to join them a few seasons later when he felt unwelcome at the Camp Nou and, of course, after losing the semi-final in 2008. against United, he had two wins and two assists in 2009 and the 2011 Champions League final against Fergie’s teams in Rome and at Wembley.
There have been several attempts to appreciate the excellent midfielder, nicknamed “La Machina” (“The Machine”) by his teammates, away from Camp Nou, including by Bayern Munichwho thought they got him in 2014. But it was the temptation of that offer that became Ferguson’s United heartbeat that he was most outspoken.
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Back in 2011, right before I wrote the book “Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World”, Xavi told me about it. “It’s been a long time since I really thought about accepting United’s offer. I needed to change the circumstances and things didn’t go well for me at Barcelona.
“I’ve always felt a real attachment to English football and Manchester United will be ‘my club’ there. For a long time in my career, when people saw me as Pep’s successor. Guardiola in midfield, I have felt, by some, as outsiders, as the bad guys for taking over the legendary captain.
“We’re not good at handling change here [at Barca]. I hate all the ‘me and Pep’ debates and Louis van Gaal [then-Barcelona manager] wasn’t particularly skillful to get an 18-year-old through it. What ultimately made the difference was that I was as stubborn as a mule: I thought about moving to United, but I made up my mind. I said to myself ‘I need to prove myself here!'”
Those two Champions League finals, in which Barcelona defeated United comprehensively, will yield some of Ferguson’s best, most remembered quotes. Besides snarling that Pep Guardiola’s Barca can “get past you to death”, the Scottish legend points to a “bewitching” midfield of Xavi. Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta — more Lionel Messi, Gerard PiqueDavid Villa, Pedro, Thierry Henry or Samuel Eto’o at their peak — will “take you on that Ferris wheel and dazzle you with their pass!”
It was an iconic symbol for an iconic moment when the 3-1 win at Wembley was, in particular, considered by the football community — not just the media — to be one of the performances. Greatest soccer performance of all time. Three-time European Cup/Champions League winner, Graeme Souness said: “I think everyone should stand up and clap.” Osvaldo Ardiles, 1978 World Cup winner with Argentina added: “This Barca is the greatest team of all time.”
The view of Roy Keane, who once acted as Ferguson’s midfield executor, was that “United went up to the best team ever”, while Ottmar Hitzfeld, who was won the Champions League as coach of Bayern Munich, noting that “this Barcelona is the smartest team”. All Time.”
World Cup and Champions League-winning coach Marcello Lippi said it with even more authority: “There has never been a team that has played like this in the history of football. We are watching a phenomenon. only one.”
It was an unparalleled and spontaneous tribute from Barcelona’s colleagues as the Spanish team competed and perfected a brand of football that both conquered and captivated the world. However, the purpose of recreating all of this is not to evoke nostalgia, but rather before another meeting between Barca and Man United, it is to compare the differences of the Barcelona team coached by Xavi training against a team where he dominates the midfield and inspires. to two trebles titles, won so much praise.
Some of the fundamentals remain the same. Xavi’s Barcelona are an attacking team: no one in La Liga has scored more, nor spent more time in the opposition half. Barcelona’s pressure, a major weapon, is not the same as the pressure of the team Xavi controls from midfield: it takes place in different areas of the pitch, and it’s continuous rather than explosive. explosive, but opponents have found it difficult to untangle themselves since United found it in 2009 and 2011.
Furthermore, once Barca had gained possession, it was used very differently now. Statistics in LaLiga show that Xavi’s team only passes the ball about 7 times every time they control the ball. Under Guardiola, with Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta in midfield, that enchanting “carousel” would make the ball roll almost double or triple that amount each time it was held.
Reason? Unlike Guardiola, Xavi wants the ball to move forward, vertically, with the aim of being much faster; he doesn’t believe that the constant rotation of the ball before attempting to split and subdue an opponent will “put” his team in the correct order of positions. Instead, this iteration of Barcelona places high value on winning the ball and then immediately pummeling their opponents with sharp, forward passes or midfield runs. . Gavi, Pedri or Frenkie de Jong.
There was a moment in Barcelona’s victory at Villarreal, putting them 11 points ahead of leaders Madrid, when Gavi, at halftime, passed a free pass to a teammate. Xavi, performing the same touchdown dance any frustrated coach would recognize, leapt up in a fit of rage before indicating, with jarring clarity, that he wanted the young midfielder. His fellow darted at Villarreal’s retreating central defenders with the ball at his feet. He doesn’t want him to come over.
We are talking about nuances and details, but things are very different.
Xavi might call it version 2.0. The ideas in which he plays are being “updated” and imposed to fit what the 43-year-old believes is a different football scene. Today, Xavi feels rival teams are less fragmented by their constant, enchanting use of ball possession, and are made worse when they are caught up in pace, trying to reorganize later. when cornered and robbed.
As we titled the movie in my book Barca, if Guardiola’s era was “Get the ball… pass the ball”, then Xavi’s era was more about “Get the ball… dash forward. competitor!” The idea is that it’s up to date, on the right track, and even flying, which brings us to one of the two that probably stands out the most.
First, when Xavi was still playing for Guardiola, it was absolutely forbidden for the goalkeeper to take a long kick from the tees. At all costs, Barcelona passed the ball from behind in the hope of pulling the opponent’s top line towards them and creating space in the back. Goalie Marc-Andre ter Stegenwhile defeating Villarreal, repeated the striking strategy like a sore thumb first Real Madrid in Barcelona’s recent 3-1 win in the Spanish Super Cup: he will continue to serve long balls to small players like Gavi and Pedri trying to compete with considerably taller opponents, when Barcelona will then try to win the “second” or “third” ball when the air challenge results in loose ball control.
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Two examples: Gavi is 1.5m tall, but he’s in LaLiga’s top 10 midfielders when it comes to aerial victories (24), and he’s won 63% of his jump jumps. .
Another thing is that no one in LaLiga has won the ball in the opponent’s half more than Pedri (42). Ter Stegen lifted the ball, Gavi jumped to meet it, Pedri picked up the debris. It was unthinkable when Xavi was still Guardiola’s midfield general, but extremely effective at the moment. Anyway, at least in LaLiga.
Before Win 1-0 on Sunday, Barcelona did not “lose” joint possession of the ball to any team. Villarreal won that particular matchup with 54% of possession, although the Yellow Submarines had more passes and accurate passes than Xavi’s team.
Back when Barcelona regularly put Manchester United in the spotlight, any such statistics would be the cause of fans grinding their teeth, gnashing their teeth and beating their chests. Now, with 11 points at the top of the table (with 17 games remaining) plus the Spanish Super Cup safely stored in the trophy cabinet, people barely raise an eyebrow as Xavi’s side are winning. win.
After the Villarreal game, Xavi said “we are in a good moment, perhaps perfect, in defence, high pressure intensity.” No mention of possession or passing, or anything about the use of the ball.
Instead, Xavi only cares about attitude, mentality and what to do when Barcelona don’t have the ball. “We are at the best moment since I came here as a coach,” he said, adding that “now we have to change the mentality for the Europa League… we have to be able to do that. showing his best form against Manchester United.”
I wonder: does he mean up against a team that used to be under pressure, and is happy to be asked to win these physical, aerial, live for sports competitions? every weekend in the Premier League, Xavi “changes” could be a reference to possibly related to shifting Barcelona’s approach back to, a little bit, according to Guardiola’s ideas?
Should we expect Barcelona to hold the ball and pass it at Camp Nou on Thursday? We’ll have to wait and see.
