Xavi (Spanish Lego Pep) | Barca manager - and will be next season - or will he?

[BerryBerryShrew]

Xavi being humble in defeat is not something i expected of him as a manager, he was quite the sore loser as a player, maybe he has changed, or he feels its different than actually being on the pitch himself.

Agreed; whenever Barca/Spain lost while he was a player, he'd whine that they should have won because they had more possession. I thought he'd be a terrible manager as a result, but he's a lot more pragmatic than I expected. He may do very well there if Barca actually find a way out of their financial black hole.

 

[BerryBerryShrew]

He spoke very respectfully and nicely about Utd all throughout the buildup to the games and after them as well.

I'm sure he's done interviews in the past where he's been complimentary of Utd and our history too. Seems a nice enough guy.

He's a bit like Pep- he admires "real" clubs with great histories (like ourselves and Barca) but is perfectly willing to line his own pockets by degrading himself for oil money.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

He's a bit like Pep- he admires "real" clubs with great histories (like ourselves and Barca) but is perfectly willing to line his own pockets by degrading himself for oil money.

That's a fair point.

 

[carvajal]

Haven't watched Barcelona as much as I did during their peak era, but this Barca team is terrible compared to the sides I'm accustomed to seeing. No idea how they are top of La Liga-- Player for player, I don't think a single Barcelona player would be in the Madrid starting XI. No real star power in that squad.

I love Araújo, I think he is one of the best centre-backs in the world along with Militao. I think he would be more of a starter than Rudiger or Alaba.
Defensively Mendy is fantastic but I think Balde can have a great career, I wouldn't mind signing him either.

 

[GinobiliTheGOAT]

Mate, we are without Martial and Eriksen, two of our best players. Plus dalot wasn’t fit either. You talk about a drop off, we are playing weghorst ffs, it’s like you playing luuk de Jong or braithwaite upfront. Going from Dembele to Raphinha, fati or ferran isn’t even comparable to going from Martial to weghorst.

martial has been brutal for ages same
With Fati. Missing pedri and Gavi for that second leg is bigger than anything United had missing especially with us being so possession based. Either way, the better team won and well done to your boys

 

[Zehner]

Agreed; whenever Barca/Spain lost while he was a player, he'd whine that they should have won because they had more possession. I thought he'd be a terrible manager as a result, but he's a lot more pragmatic than I expected. He may do very well there if Barca actually find a way out of their financial black hole.

Case in point, you beat them with progressive and ambitious football, not by being destructive and betting on a lucky punch. Xavi was only salty when he was beaten by typical Mourinho or Simeone tactics if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Lemoor]

Xavi was only salty when he was beaten by typical Mourinho or Simeone tactics if I'm not mistaken.

I remember him being quite salty after few of the Bayern losses.

 

[MVBDX]

I remember him being quite salty after few of the Bayern losses.

Yup, he was pretty salty after 7-0, even blaming the referee.

 

[Acrobat7]

Yup, he was pretty salty after 7-0, even blaming the referee.

Yeah, you 8-2 see such behavior

 

[stefan92]

I remember him being quite salty after few of the Bayern losses.

It's one thing if you lose an open duel against a strong opponent (like it now happened against United).

It's another thing to lose a match against a team that doesn't even think it could lose against you (like recent Bayern against Barca). That kind of (to be fair: deserved) disrepect hurts and causes a reaction.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Bad week for them: beaten by Almeria today. L.o.l.

 

[Zehner]

I think he doesn't get enough credit. Pedri, Lewandowski, Ter Stegen, de Jong and Dembelé and Gavi are class. Araujo and Kounde are also decent but there are lots of regulars in his team that are definitely far worse than their Madrid counterparts. They are far away from having a top player in every position but he's still on his way to win the league and may even get into triple digits pointwise. Copa del Rey is also likelier than not as it stands. Pretty impressive I think.

 

[Niemans]

I think he doesn't get enough credit. Pedri, Lewandowski, Ter Stegen, de Jong and Dembelé and Gavi are class. Araujo and Kounde are also decent but there are lots of regulars in his team that are definitely far worse than their Madrid counterparts. They are far away from having a top player in every position but he's still on his way to win the league and may even get into triple digits pointwise. Copa del Rey is also likelier than not as it stands. Pretty impressive I think.

Xavi always talks that they lack a player who gives the last pass, also for his style, except Dembélé, he does not have wingers who are effective in the 1vs1.
Over time the team will get closer to their way of playing.

 

[always_hoping]

I see they beat Real Madrid away 1-0 in the 1st leg of the Copa del Rey tonight. Didn't see the match but looking at the stats Madrid with zero shots on target.

 

[PepG]

I see they beat Real Madrid away 1-0 in the 1st leg of the Copa del Rey tonight. Didn't see the match but looking at the stats Madrid with zero shots on target.

Yeah and Barca had only 35 percent possession and won with a lucky own goal by Madrid. I wonder what would have to say Xavi the player if he was able to see todays performance of Barcelona..

 

[adexkola]

Good on him, and he has taken other losses well so far too, as i can recall.

Its just that as a player, he was very different whenever his team lost.

Something like this?

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[GatoLoco]

Something like this?

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Deluded statement from Ancelotti, especially seeing how sterile Madrid was yesterday.

Still Xavi was something else

In that sense, the midfielder offered up a strange interpretation of the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich, which the Germans won 7-0 over two legs: “We enjoyed the bulk of the possession against Bayern, they couldn't control the game. To look only at the result doesn't really tell the whole story."

https://www.marca.com/2013/06/08/en/football/barcelona/1370717058.html

Controlling the game, the ultimate paradigm.

 

[Zehner]

Deluded statement from Ancelotti, especially seeing how sterile Madrid was yesterday.

Still Xavi was something else

In that sense, the midfielder offered up a strange interpretation of the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich, which the Germans won 7-0 over two legs: “We enjoyed the bulk of the possession against Bayern, they couldn't control the game. To look only at the result doesn't really tell the whole story."

https://www.marca.com/2013/06/08/en/football/barcelona/1370717058.html

Controlling the game, the ultimate paradigm.

Bayern was actually a bit lucky in the first match. The second one they were clearly the better team. But yeah, I think he's right in that controlling the game leaves you with the best chances of winning it, too.

What did he say about this match? If he's consequent, he probably should be self critical since Barca was very passive yesterday

 

[GatoLoco]

Bayern was actually a bit lucky in the first match. The second one they were clearly the better team. But yeah, I think he's right in that controlling the game leaves you with the best chances of winning it, too.

What did he say about this match? If he's consequent, he probably should be self critical since Barca was very passive yesterday

And controlling the game means what exactly? Because I don't think you control the game when your rival has 7 shots on goal and you have just 1.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/match/_/gameId/364639

We can all have different definitions of what controlling a game or playing well means. I'm not sure I have strict definitions for those but if I had, the former would be related to "being in a comfortable position to harm and not to be harmed for most of the game" and the second one to "attacking well and defending well". If we stick to those definitions I don't think Barcelona did any of that in that game and focusing on whether Bayern did control the game or not is completely losing the perspective of what has just happened to your team.

 

[GinobiliTheGOAT]

Yeah and Barca had only 35 percent possession and won with a lucky own goal by Madrid. I wonder what would have to say Xavi the player if he was able to see todays performance of Barcelona..

barca are heavily injured, trying to play a possession based game with that lineup would be suicide. It’s not ideal, but without pedri, Lewa and dembele it’s a completely different team

 

[Zehner]

And controlling the game means what exactly? Because I don't think you control the game when your rival has 7 shots on goal and you have just 1.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/match/_/gameId/364639

We can all have different definitions of what controlling a game or playing well means. I'm not sure I have strict definitions for those but if I had, the former would be related to "being in a comfortable position to harm and not to be harmed for most of the game" and the second one to "attacking well and defending well". If we stick to those definitions I don't think Barcelona did any of that in that game and focusing on whether Bayern did control the game or not is completely losing the perspective of what has just happened to your team.

For me controlling a game isn't equal to playing well. It is one aspect of it but not everything. You can control a game but if you don't create chances, you don't play well. But if you create chances and don't control the game, still everything can happen. If you for instance score two early goals and then sit back and counter I don't think you have everything under control because you're leaving the initiative to the opponent and accept the risk of deflected shots, lucky punches, etc.

By the way, I thought you were referring to Bayern's and Barca's match up in the UCL this year, not the thrashing.

 

[PepG]

barca are heavily injured, trying to play a possession based game with that lineup would be suicide. It’s not ideal, but without pedri, Lewa and dembele it’s a completely different team

Its not about possession at all. Xavi gave up yesterday to a fundamental principle of his and Barcas philosophy.. to be proactive, to play football on a front foot is the DNA of this club since Cruyff. U can adjust and tweak as much as you want but you never sacrifice it if you are a coach of Barcelona. Yesterday Barca were the reactive team and were waiting for the opponent to make mistakes..this is unacceptable.

 

[Oly Francis]

barca are heavily injured, trying to play a possession based game with that lineup would be suicide. It’s not ideal, but without pedri, Lewa and dembele it’s a completely different team

Come on, everybody know it wasn't the plan, even Xavi and Busquets admitted it. There's a difference between possession based football and what Barcelona displayed yesterday. It was very bad, period, and they got lucky to win it. The team that Barça put on the pitch should be able to have the ball far more, Villareal managed to have roughly 50% possession and beat Real Madrid with far less talent.

 

[GinobiliTheGOAT]

Come on, everybody know it wasn't the plan, even Xavi and Busquets admitted it. There's a difference between possession based football and what Barcelona displayed yesterday. It was very bad, period, and they got lucky to win it. The team that Barça put on the pitch should be able to have the ball far more, Villareal managed to have roughly 50% possession and beat Real Madrid with far less talent.

nah, not without pedri. Once Barca were up a goal they did exactly what they needed to do. Even more Insane they should’ve been up 2-0. Was it pretty? Not at all? Fortunate? Of course. But they defended very well when they needed to and got the 3 points.

 

[GinobiliTheGOAT]

Its not about possession at all. Xavi gave up yesterday to a fundamental principle of his and Barcas philosophy.. to be proactive, to play football on a front foot is the DNA of this club since Cruyff. U can adjust and tweak as much as you want but you never sacrifice it if you are a coach of Barcelona. Yesterday Barca were the reactive team and were waiting for the opponent to make mistakes..this is unacceptable.

not at all, considering the injuries he did what he had to do. Valverde did this a lot as well, pragmatic football. Not ideal but they would’ve lost 4-0 trying to play how they normally played. Xavi did the right thing defending the lead

 

[Oly Francis]

nah, not without pedri. Once Barca were up a goal they did exactly what they needed to do. Even more Insane they should’ve been up 2-0. Was it pretty? Not at all? Fortunate? Of course. But they defended very well when they needed to and got the 3 points.

So a midfield of De Jong, Busquets and Kessie helped with Gavi can't retain possession againt a lazy Kroos, a sloppy Camavinga and a 37 years old Modric without Pedri? Come on mate, Xavi and Busquets admitted it, giving the ball away that easily WAS NOT the plan. Kuddos to Barcelona for defending well but that was not what they wanted to do.

 

[Forevergiggs1]

So a midfield of De Jong, Busquets and Kessie helped with Gavi can't retain possession againt a lazy Kroos, a sloppy Camavinga and a 37 years old Modric without Pedri? Come on mate, Xavi and Busquets admitted it, giving the ball away that easily WAS NOT the plan. Kuddos to Barcelona for defending well but that was not what they wanted to do.

Barca where being pragmatic at best which is understandable considering their quest for trophies was diminished against us and they need to win something this season. I've never seen Barca play that way for nearly 20 years. Of course they could of retained possession but their game plan was to sit deep and defend for their lives. Which in the end proved successful.

There's no way they'll set up the same at the camp nou so it'll be interesting to see which game plan proves more successful.

 

[adexkola]

pragmatic football

What is pragmatic football?

 

[Oly Francis]

Barca where being pragmatic at best which is understandable considering their quest for trophies was diminished against us and they need to win something this season. I've never seen Barca play that way for nearly 20 years. Of course they could of retained possession but their game plan was to sit deep and defend for their lives. Which in the end proved successful.

There's no way they'll set up the same at the camp nou so it'll be interesting to see which game plan proves more successful.

For god sake, stop rewriting your own narrative so you make it look like smart tacticts. IT WAS NOT THE PLAN. You guys are delusional.


Xavi's own words after the game, not clear enough for you :

You didn’t have a lot of the ball but played well in defence, was that the plan?

No, the plan was to have long stretches of possession and play in the opposition’s half, to dominate with the ball. But it’s Madrid that’s in front of you and these things happen, for example, in Europe. We always want to defend with the ball but sometimes you can’t. But it’s OK, Madrid hardly had any chances and that shows that, in defence, at least, we were extraordinary. Defending is part of the sport.


What would you have liked to see tonight?

We look to dominate through possession. We like to generate chances. Today’s game wasn’t what we wanted, what we expected, but it’s Real Madrid. How do you get the ball from Kroos and Modric? It’s very difficult. But, and I repeat, we were extraordinary in defence.

 

[Zehner]

For god sake, stop rewriting your own narrative so you make it look like smart tacticts. IT WAS NOT THE PLAN. You guys are delusional.


Xavi's own words after the game, not clear enough for you :

You didn’t have a lot of the ball but played well in defence, was that the plan?

No, the plan was to have long stretches of possession and play in the opposition’s half, to dominate with the ball. But it’s Madrid that’s in front of you and these things happen, for example, in Europe. We always want to defend with the ball but sometimes you can’t. But it’s OK, Madrid hardly had any chances and that shows that, in defence, at least, we were extraordinary. Defending is part of the sport.


What would you have liked to see tonight?

We look to dominate through possession. We like to generate chances. Today’s game wasn’t what we wanted, what we expected, but it’s Real Madrid. How do you get the ball from Kroos and Modric? It’s very difficult. But, and I repeat, we were extraordinary in defence.

As a Barca fan I'd be delighted by those quotes. Take the win but I'd be happier with winning with a failed game plan than that timid approach being the game plan.

 

[GinobiliTheGOAT]

As a Barca fan I'd be delighted by those quotes. Take the win but I'd be happier with winning with a failed game plan than that timid approach being the game plan.

For god sake, stop rewriting your own narrative so you make it look like smart tacticts. IT WAS NOT THE PLAN. You guys are delusional.


Xavi's own words after the game, not clear enough for you :

You didn’t have a lot of the ball but played well in defence, was that the plan?

No, the plan was to have long stretches of possession and play in the opposition’s half, to dominate with the ball. But it’s Madrid that’s in front of you and these things happen, for example, in Europe. We always want to defend with the ball but sometimes you can’t. But it’s OK, Madrid hardly had any chances and that shows that, in defence, at least, we were extraordinary. Defending is part of the sport.


What would you have liked to see tonight?

We look to dominate through possession. We like to generate chances. Today’s game wasn’t what we wanted, what we expected, but it’s Real Madrid. How do you get the ball from Kroos and Modric? It’s very difficult. But, and I repeat, we were extraordinary in defence.

exactly, credit to xavi, we were never going to win the possession battle and once Barca went up 1-0 xavi bunkered down which was the right call. Zero issues with how he adjusted even if that wasn’t the game plan going in. Barca got the job done and that’s all that matters.

 

[Forevergiggs1]

For god sake, stop rewriting your own narrative so you make it look like smart tacticts. IT WAS NOT THE PLAN. You guys are delusional.


Xavi's own words after the game, not clear enough for you :

You didn’t have a lot of the ball but played well in defence, was that the plan?

No, the plan was to have long stretches of possession and play in the opposition’s half, to dominate with the ball. But it’s Madrid that’s in front of you and these things happen, for example, in Europe. We always want to defend with the ball but sometimes you can’t. But it’s OK, Madrid hardly had any chances and that shows that, in defence, at least, we were extraordinary. Defending is part of the sport.


What would you have liked to see tonight?

We look to dominate through possession. We like to generate chances. Today’s game wasn’t what we wanted, what we expected, but it’s Real Madrid. How do you get the ball from Kroos and Modric? It’s very difficult. But, and I repeat, we were extraordinary in defence.

Did you actually watch the game? Especially after they scored they played in a very low block and had very little threat going forward although they could of easily gone 0-2 with Kessie.

Call it what you like but the stats are telling. Madrid had almost twice as many touches of the ball and 65% possession so either Xavis game plan went to shit or Barca pulled off a great result defending Madrid's attempts in attack which is where my pragmatic comment came into play.

 

[Oly Francis]

Did you actually watch the game? Especially after they scored they played in a very low block and had very little threat going forward although they could of easily gone 0-2 with Kessie.

Call it what you like but the stats are telling. Madrid had almost twice as many touches of the ball and 65% possession so either Xavis game plan went to shit or Barca pulled off a great result defending Madrid's attempts in attack which is where my pragmatic comment came into play.

Yes, I watched the game, and I saw a Barcelona team that was very easily dispossessed and that could not build anything going forward. It didn't look intentionnal at all, they were just crushed in the midfield battle and lost a comparable number of balls (140 for Real, 120 for Barcelona) while having possession only a third of the time.

Xavi called it, it wasn't the plan but a least they defended well, it couldn't be clearer and yet you're arguying against your own coach.

 

[Oly Francis]

exactly, credit to xavi, we were never going to win the possession battle and once Barca went up 1-0 xavi bunkered down which was the right call. Zero issues with how he adjusted even if that wasn’t the game plan going in. Barca got the job done and that’s all that matters.

So now he bunkered down after 0-1 I thought they couldn't play possession football without Pedri, wasn't Pedri injured before the 0-1? Why did they start the game thinking they could play possession football then?

You're changing your story as the conversaton goes, it's getting ridiculous.

The truth is, they wanted to play possession football, they couldn't do it because they were overrun so they defended all game long, end of the story. It wasn't a plan, it wasn't a strategy, it wasn't "well played", they were forced to do so because they couldn't do anything else.

 

[city-puma]

Using microscopes to view a particular game and draw conclusions for long term, it’s funny. I don’t know how good he is as manager, but what he has done so far is pretty good. Next season will tell more.

 

[Forevergiggs1]

Yes, I watched the game, and I saw a Barcelona team that was very easily dispossessed and that could not build anything going forward. It didn't look intentionnal at all, they were just crushed in the midfield battle and lost a comparable number of balls (140 for Real, 120 for Barcelona) while having possession only a third of the time.

Xavi called it, it wasn't the plan but a least they defended well, it couldn't be clearer and yet you're arguying against your own coach.

I very rarely miss a Barca game and I can honestly say I haven't seen a set up from them comparable for at least 15 years. Barca simply don't play low blocks even if they're under the cosh. Especially in the 2nd half they were playing with 2 blocks of 4 very close to their own area. Of course there's nothing wrong with that playing against Madrid, away from home with important players out but I do think Xavi was bending the truth a little when asked about the game as his set up isn't part of the clubs dna. He got the result which is all that really matters at the end of the day. The return leg should be very interesting indeed.

 

[Oly Francis]

Using microscopes to view a particular game and draw conclusions for long term, it’s funny. I don’t know how good he is as manager, but what he has done so far is pretty good. Next season will tell more.

Basing an analysis on results isn't less funny. Is he doig better than Koeman? Probably. But Barcelona is playing badly overall for months now, after getting eliminated from european cups pretty easily 2 years in a row. Their top spot in La Liga is only due to opponents missing a lot, a great Ter Stegen and a pretty bad version of Real Madrid. They looked good at the begining of the season but it's long gone now, every game is pretty much a drag.

 

[city-puma]

Basing an analysis on results isn't less funny. Is he doig better than Koeman? Probably. But Barcelona is playing badly overall for months now, after getting eliminated from european cups pretty easily 2 years in a row. Their top spot in La Liga is only due to opponents missing a lot, a great Ter Stegen and a pretty bad version of Real Madrid. They looked good at the begining of the season but it's long gone now, every game is pretty much a drag.

It’s too early to draw conclusions, no? Of course, everyone can predict. I am not convinced by it at the moment. That’s it.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Whining helps i guess. He whines all the time; pre game, during the game abd after the help.

 

[Oly Francis]

It’s too early to draw conclusions, no? Of course, everyone can predict. I am not convinced by it at the moment. That’s it.

It's obviously too early to be definitive but he already failed at making the important choices he had to make. His obsession with Busqets, the lack of game time he gave De Jong for almost a year, it doesn't look very good when you try to figure out how he sees the future of Barcelona. Some match were really good though so he has ideas, but i'm not sure his ideas are sustainable at the highest level.