Ferran Torres

No, it is absolute nonsense to attribute the disappearance of greats to a systemic improvement of a sport. That's like saying we don't have any more Muhammad Alis because boxing is much more advanced now. Or nobody is having the impact of Jordan because basketball is much more advanced now.

Bullshit. You only get to see truly elite quality very very very rarely. That's all there is to it.

What you can expect is top players. And Pedri is one. But above that, Pedri doesn't have it. No shame in it.
 
serghei said:
No, it is absolute nonsense to attribute the disappearance of greats to a systemic improvement of a sport. That's like saying we don't have any more Muhammad Alis because boxing is much more advanced now. Or nobody is gonna achieve what Jordan did because basketball is so more advanced now.

Bullshit. You only get to see truly elite quality very very very rarely. That's all there is to it.
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The floor is much higher now

But the ceiling is lower because of the emphasis on the collective and systems rather than individuals
 
Temptation said:
The likes of Xavi and Pirlo played plenty of brilliant defense splitting final balls too
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as does Pedri regularly if you watch Barca games. And no deep midfielders except him and Vitinha do that these days.

Xavi had the better timing and eye for a through-ball, true that. But Xavi is arguably the GOAT midfielder and retired. Let's judge Pedri from the same vantage point.
 
Hah fucking hell

Seghie now going down the road of 'but he isnt Xavi'.

Made a moronic claim about Ferran.. doubles down to deflect on Pedri.

Usual.
 
Temptation said:
The floor is much higher now

But the ceiling is lower because of the emphasis on the collective and systems rather than individuals
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There's no such thing. I remember Barcelona vs Rubin Kazan in 2010, 0-1 at home in CL on Camp Nou. Was almost a carbon copy of today's game of Spain - Cabo Verde.

There's nothing new today that wasn't happening 15 years ago.
 
te amo barca said:
as does Pedri regularly if you watch Barca games. And no deep midfielders except him and Vitinha do that these days.

Xavi had the better timing and eye for a through-ball, true that. But Xavi is arguably the GOAT midfielder and retired. Let's judge Pedri from the same vantage point.
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I watched 85% of Barca games when RL9 was in the club

Xavi/Pirlo had a different level of vision

They could see shit you can't even see or think of on TV

That bit of individual brilliance and genius is missing in the biggest games

And obviously no current player can execute passes like peak KDB who is weirdly underrated on this forum
 
te amo barca said:
as does Pedri regularly if you watch Barca games. And no deep midfielders except him and Vitinha do that these days.

Xavi had the better timing and eye for a through-ball, true that. But Xavi is arguably the GOAT midfielder and retired. Let's judge Pedri from the same vantage point.
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The difference between Xavi and Pedri is the release of ball quickly and having touches only when necessary. Xavi also had better vision and stamina and was actually a proper tempo setter if any. Pedri slows the game like an elite 6 but can’t increase its tempo like Xavi, Pirlo and Modric. Vitinha does that and also has pace, agility and grit to dominate the midfield in big games. I love Pedri though and he isn’t Barca’s problem. Him, De Jong and one elite box to box destroyer would be top 3 midfield imo.
 
serghei said:
What does Pedri think would've happened if he failed a riskier through ball. Cabo Verde is gonna pass to Mbappe and Olise? :lol:

We should be thanking god we have a manager like Flick, because this is what our game would look like at Barcelona under a possession based manager with this lot.
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It wasn't Xavi's fault after all! These bum players just don't know the positional game 😎
 
Dynamic_posession said:
The difference between Xavi and Pedri is the release of ball quickly and having touches only when necessary. Xavi also had better vision and stamina and was actually a proper tempo setter if any. Pedri slows the game like an elite 6 but can’t increase its tempo like Xavi, Pirlo and Modric. Vitinha does that and also has pace, agility and grit to dominate the midfield in big games. I love Pedri though and he isn’t Barca’s problem. Him, De Jong and one elite box to box destroyer would be top 3 midfield imo.
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This exactly

Well said

Xavi Pirlo Modric Vitinha etc have more killer instinct and X factor
 
serghei said:
There's no such thing. I remember Barcelona vs Rubin Kazan in 2010, 0-1 at home in CL on Camp Nou. Was almost a carbon copy of today's game of Spain - Cabo Verde.

There's nothing new today that wasn't happening 15 years ago.
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Factually wrong and refuted by data.

"Running load demands in the English Premier League (EPL) have significantly increased over time, with regular updates recommended to monitor these changes. High-intensity distance (HID; speed >5.5 m/s) rose by 30% between 2006 and 2013, followed by a 12% increase from 2014 to 2018. Similarly, sprint distance (SprD; speed >7 m/s) increased by 35% from 2006 to 2013 and by 15% between 2014 and 2018. These trends are expected to continue." Source: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/59/23/1643

Open spaces/half-spaces are closed down much faster these days.


Another study based on La Liga games between 19/20 and 22/23: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39846668/

"Recent studies have shown that players cover greater distances at high intensities and in HSR metrics during matches [23]. Consequently, studies reporting distances covered at 24–28 km·h−1 or maximum distances (i.e., >28 km·h−1) are becoming more common [24]. For instance, HSR (high-speed running) and sprint running distances have ranged from 911 to 1063 m and 223 to 307 m, reflecting increases of approximately 29% and 50%, respectively [23]. Therefore, the increase in maximum distances should be carefully considered in training load monitoring [25], in injury prevention [26], and in identifying elite players in professional soccer [22]."

And this trend is becoming only more pronounced. 2026 to 2010 is a world of difference at this point.
 
R9. said:
Worst player ever.

Open goal miss from 5 meters
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R9. said:
Fuck your idiot mother piece of shit,
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R9. said:
This retart costed me big money.
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Hope this wasn't you , fam

HK3PMymXkAEzbIi
 
Torres was absolutely terrible, even far more terrible than usual.

Pedri was our best player. Cucu also played well, considering there was no one for him to play with on the left side.
 
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