4 - Ronald Araújo
- Thread starter xXKonan
- Start date
Marshall D Teach
Active member
Oh boy, I hope BBZ sees this. His reply will be gold.
BBZ masterpiece coming
I'll do it.
[MENTION=16942]BBZ8800[/MENTION]
Richard.H
Senior Member
Bruh...
Vilarrubi
New member
I realised that after his reply to my post. Gonna leave him following games with his mouse in peace now.
messi2140
6racies Xavi
You will actually find a decent chunk of the fanbase thinking link that , especially those who are obsessed with La Masia. And when it comes to him thinking Busquets is still the best DM , go check the barca reddit and you will find posts like these (admittedly a few are starting to realize he isn't what he used to be on there)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comm...immortalize_one_player_who_would_it/?sort=top
His latest 2 two takes are a different story ( Arthur being more progressive on the ball than Xavi and him following the ball with his mouse)
Last edited:
Rassvet
Well-known member
It only takes r/barca a few days to forget how disastrous Busi is in big games.
Busquest is still great vs normal teams but not suitable vs top teams.
I will do his part, quickly.
Xavi 2009/10: through ball completed per 90: 1.06, key pass per 90: 3.5, chance created by through ball: 22, 13 assists, assists by through ball: 8. All in Laliga
Arthur in his all games in Europe (league + UCL): 6 assists,just 1 through ball assist.
It is not that hard to compare.
KingLeo10
Senior Member
Honestly, Xavi and Iniesta in their prime were so good at through ball assists (Messi too) that it makes the likes of other all time great midfielders like Modric pale in comparison. Obviously, Modric has other attributes but I haven't seen him consistently thread silky passes through jammed traffic/the middle.
Bobo32
Senior Member
Thanks Joan.
I am not a troll, but I will admit that I am aware that "Puig being top 5" is a big claim, I am not completely sure on that yet as I've seen him so little. But he is playing like he was, and I will keep standing for the claim I made.
I said Busquets was number 1 in 2008/2009 as well, before most people did.
I was made aware here recently that Xavi still rated Busquets as the best DM in the world, so I at least have some company then. I wonder how Pep would rate him nowadays... Please point me to any comments by Pep on Busquets recently.
Cruyff said he would be most curious how Barcelona would look after Busquets retired, I wonder how he would rate him now too...
I rate Alba, Busquets, Pique and Messi as the players of the highest class in the team, no doubt. It is true though that they not only need the right surrounding, but also the right coaching - as they are so good, they can easily lose hunger to improve, and get a bit complacent or stuck in old ways. I can see some of that. It is obvious though that these players care a lot more deeply for the results and for the club than the frenchmen for example, but still, it's hard to change a habit when you are old, and you need the right coaching to do it. It will be very interesting to see Xavi attempt to train these players.
With regards to IQ, there is a known phenomenon that a low IQ and a high IQ person can look the same to the one with moderate IQ.
Bobo32
Senior Member
It is a bit different when you have Pedro, Alves, even Messi, constantly making runs, in a team with constant 70% possession on the opposite half, compared to today, don't you think?
Xavi himself talked about it in an article by Sid Lowe I linked in Xavis thread recently - how all his team mates wanted the ball all the time. Take a look at an old game and watch Pedro take 3-4 full runs behind in the same attack, and Xavi deciding against it but instead keeping possession. He still made the through ball eventually, as he always got the ball back.
A through ball is not a high risk ball by itself, either. Xavi wouldn't play the through ball if he didn't think he was going to make it 9/10 times. (Pjanic only feels he needs 1/10, a much higher risk player). I saw Arthur attempting a few through balls Xavi never would have tried.
tldr: for risk, look at succesful pass% rather than amount of through balls.
Through ball is a pass splitting the defence for a team-mate to run on to. Simply the most quality pass you can expect from a passer. Daily remind you that Messi completed many through balls while played with same teammates like Arthur at Barca. Rakitic also completed more than Arthur, Roberto completed more through balls than Arthur.
Oh, and Xavi had 90% passing success rate with several through ball completed in 2009/10.
Arthur plays more risk, lol.
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