- Status
SahanBarca
New member
After earning enough Qatar cash ?
Aryagorn
Improvin' Perfection!!
And the Pep-Holy-Lucho-LOLy brigade would not accept that La Liga has become stronger and it is only acceptable that Lucho's team can drop more points than Pep's team!
El Flaco
Active member
Xavi's interview with the Sun
On Scotland
“We played Scotland at Hampden a few years ago but I wasn’t playing. I was injured but I remember it was a fantastic game.
“As a kid I’d watch them play and I feel real sympathy for the fans and for the players that they are not there (in a major tournament).
“Everyone loves Scotland. In Spain everyone loves Real Betis because of their supporters — and Scotland is the same.
“I would love to see them make it back to a major tournament in 2018. The fans and the players are so passionate about the game.
“We have missed them at these tournaments and hopefully they are back sooner than later.”
On where Xavi's admiration for Scottish football comes from
“From every game I played at Celtic I remember the amazing atmosphere. The noise is incredible and it’s one of my favourite places to play.
“The fans are so passionate and push the team from the first moment. They are intense, so loud and encouraging for the Celtic players.
“We lost that night (2-1 to Celtic in group stage back in 2012) because we made mistakes but also because Celtic played very well.
“It was a hard game from the very beginning but it was still a good experience because it was such an amazing atmosphere.
“It’s an atmosphere that makes a difference to the Celtic players. It makes them better as opposed to other teams worse. It affected them in a really positive way.
“Speaking for the Barcelona players, it doesn’t affect our mentality in a negative way. We were all used to playing in big games, so it didn’t distract us. We enjoyed playing in that environment.
"But the supporters really make a difference for the Celtic players.
“Everyone knows there is a saying that supporters can be the extra man but it’s really true in this instance.”
On Barca's 7-0 win against Celtic at Camp Nou
“I was pretty surprised that Celtic lost 7-0 at the Nou Camp but Barca played an outstanding game that night. They were unstoppable.
“Maybe if Moussa Dembele had scored the penalty it would have changed the game. It was a big moment.
“But then when Celtic lost the second and third goals very quickly, it was going to be very difficult to come back from that.
“They scored seven goals that night but the gap between Celtic and Barcelona isn’t that big.
“When Barca scored the third you could see Celtic just didn’t know how to come back. It was seven but it could have been ten.
“However, that doesn’t mean the gap is actually that big. I don’t believe it is."
“We played Scotland at Hampden a few years ago but I wasn’t playing. I was injured but I remember it was a fantastic game.
“As a kid I’d watch them play and I feel real sympathy for the fans and for the players that they are not there (in a major tournament).
“Everyone loves Scotland. In Spain everyone loves Real Betis because of their supporters — and Scotland is the same.
“I would love to see them make it back to a major tournament in 2018. The fans and the players are so passionate about the game.
“We have missed them at these tournaments and hopefully they are back sooner than later.”
On where Xavi's admiration for Scottish football comes from
“From every game I played at Celtic I remember the amazing atmosphere. The noise is incredible and it’s one of my favourite places to play.
“The fans are so passionate and push the team from the first moment. They are intense, so loud and encouraging for the Celtic players.
“We lost that night (2-1 to Celtic in group stage back in 2012) because we made mistakes but also because Celtic played very well.
“It was a hard game from the very beginning but it was still a good experience because it was such an amazing atmosphere.
“It’s an atmosphere that makes a difference to the Celtic players. It makes them better as opposed to other teams worse. It affected them in a really positive way.
“Speaking for the Barcelona players, it doesn’t affect our mentality in a negative way. We were all used to playing in big games, so it didn’t distract us. We enjoyed playing in that environment.
"But the supporters really make a difference for the Celtic players.
“Everyone knows there is a saying that supporters can be the extra man but it’s really true in this instance.”
On Barca's 7-0 win against Celtic at Camp Nou
“I was pretty surprised that Celtic lost 7-0 at the Nou Camp but Barca played an outstanding game that night. They were unstoppable.
“Maybe if Moussa Dembele had scored the penalty it would have changed the game. It was a big moment.
“But then when Celtic lost the second and third goals very quickly, it was going to be very difficult to come back from that.
“They scored seven goals that night but the gap between Celtic and Barcelona isn’t that big.
“When Barca scored the third you could see Celtic just didn’t know how to come back. It was seven but it could have been ten.
“However, that doesn’t mean the gap is actually that big. I don’t believe it is."
blastandburn
New member
Xavi has always been a voice of sense. Would love to seem him back in La Liga. Even not as a player.
El Flaco
Active member
Yesterday, the podcast "BBC World Football" published a clip of Xavi talking about Pep.
It was on how Pep can revolutionise English football and that their NT can benefit of Pep working in PL. Xavi also talked on how Pep is as a coach, the difference between him vs. other coach etc..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04b6z1l
It starts at 1:15 and ends at 4:55 minute mark.
It was on how Pep can revolutionise English football and that their NT can benefit of Pep working in PL. Xavi also talked on how Pep is as a coach, the difference between him vs. other coach etc..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04b6z1l
It starts at 1:15 and ends at 4:55 minute mark.
serghei
Senior Member
It is not an inevitable fall. It is more like us having to build a new team with clearly talented players, and stop behaving as if the players we have are shit just because they take some work to develop. What the fuck do people expect, to get players from Lyon and Valencia and to make them play like world beaters in 3 months? That is not possible. You have to work hard to get the talent to become certainty.
Even the players that this forum gives as examples, most notably Thiago and Isco. They are still far from being finished products or world class players, and have had a lot of problems after much more time invested in them than our new signings have got so far. They are still, after 3 years, more talent than certainty.
Is Isco a starter for Madrid, 3 years after he was signed? NO, he isn't. Hell, he wouln't even be playing that much if not for Kroos' injury. Thiago is almost 26 for example, and when I see him, I barely see much improvement from the Thiago at Barcelona under Pep. Developing young players takes time. Xavi really exploded in 2008. That was the season people realized he was a master. He was 28 at that time. Not 22, and not 23. We had Xavi at 25-26, he was a bench player in the CL final from Paris. We wasn't even used in the biggest match of the season. We played with Edmilson and Van Bommel in that game. Let that sink in.
People compare Gomes with prime Xavi in their head and somehow they arrive to the conclusion that he is a shit player. It's incredible. They don't even compare him with 23-24 years old Xavi, who had problems as well.
Developing young players takes time and patience. If you don't give them time and trust, you'd better build yourself a budget of 1 billion and start spending 100m+ on midfielders as well, not on strikers. Before you know it, every top signing you'll make will start at 60m.
Last edited:
Raketa10
Senior Member
True! People forget that Xavi was nothing special at age 23-24. Both he and Iniesta became world class players when Pep arrived.
Last edited:
- Status
Home of Barca Fans
