Xavi Hernández

H

Havesaks

Senior Member
This team is really great. We have so many exciting players. A god mixture of young and prime years players. (And then the oldies.......)

I believe in Xavi. I really like his squad management so far. Hope him and Lewa have a deal that he will be rested some time later in the season. Want him ready to KO matches in chl
 
fergus90

fergus90

Senior Member
The team is doing well at the moment and things are clicking in to gear, it's a pleasure to watch Barca games again. Obviously there are moments of sloppy play that could be punished by opposition of better quality, but Xavi has got the side going in the right direction.

He's resting and rotating players at the right time and there is a real obvious team spirit again.
 
Messi983

Messi983

Senior Member
So far so good.

Looks like Xavi recruited the right players and is now also integrating them into the team according to his plan. Some slower than others but that's understandable. You can't just put 6 new players into the lineup and expect them to gel immediately. I'm sure likes of Kessie and Christensen will become at least important players for rotations if not starters which is perfectly fine for players we've signed for free but big money signings like Lewy, Raphinha and Kounde are more or less penciled in starters who all started season well.

It's extremely important Lewy got off to a hot start not just because we need his goals to win games now but to silence the critics for what we've paid for a player of his age (50m really look like a bargain so far). People would go crazy if he'd need time to adapt and wouldn't score his first goal for 2-3 months like it happened with Suarez. But he looks like he's been here for years, not just for goals but overall involvement in the game. Also looks to have a positive influence and good understanding with the youngsters.

And then we have other "new signings" like Dembele, MATS, Eric and even Roberto. Hopefully they can keep up and improve on a good level they've shown so far. And then someone like Fati who I still believe could be one of if not our best "signing" if Xavi can manage his workload so he first gets back to full fitness and then can start to concentrate to improve him as a footballer. People sometimes forget he's only 19 when most players are still trying to break into the first team. Same with Pedri and Gavi who are really good players at their age but can and should still work to improve a lot in coming years. There will be growing pains and inconsistency which is expected from young players but really excited to see them develop right in front of us.

And then one thing I was the most worried when Xavi was hired and last season those concern didn't go away but now things seems to have changed is his handling of the veterans. Pique is clearly being phased out and only a 5th CB option. Alba is a 2nd and potentially a 3rd LB. Even if he'll start to play more again I think he'll have to actually deserve those minutes. Only remaining problem is that dinosaur in midfield but hopefully this is really his last season and Xavi will also manage his minutes better. He can still be useful in certain games but starting him in 90% of the games benefits neither him nor the team and hopefully Xavi is smart enough to realize that.

Generally I like how we're playing but ofc tactical improvements are still needed and expected. Xavi is still developing as a coach, new players adapting and youngsters developing. Physically wise I think we're doing well and if I'm not mistaken we ran more than our opponents in all games this season which was not often the case in previous years so I'll take thas as another positive. Results wise I would ofc liked to win against Rayo and first 60 minutes at Anoeta were not good but then again winning in San Sebastian and at Pizjuan (despite Sevilla starting season in bad form they're still a good team) is never easy. Three clean sheets in first 4 La Liga games are also welcomed although tbh we could have conceded a few more but overall think defense has improved since last year and ofc so did Ter Stegen.

Bayern next week will be the first real test for this "new" team and we'll see if Xavi can keep his unbeaten away record. While winning in Munich would be great and send a strong message to the rest of Europe and I'm quite optimistic ahead of this game I actually won't be disappointed if we won't win as long as we play well. Won't say playing better than we have in recent games against them because that bar is really set very very low so I expect drastic improvement and be competitive against what I still consider one of the best teams in Europe despite their best player now playing for us.

I think this team has a lot of untapped potential and is waiting for Xavi to unlock it but if we can play well against Bayern in September then I'm sure with an improvement I expect over the season we can do it again vs other top teams we could face in 6-7 months when it will be more important. Personally I still don't have too high expecations for a deep CL run this season so right now I'd say month of October with games every three days against some very good teams will be a much more telling sign if we're on the right track than whatever happens next week. In other words, showing consistent performances and getting good results while smartly using improved squad depth is more important to me than a good result in a single game against top opponent. But ofc winning in Germany would be a massive confidence boost for the team.
 
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Kul_z

Kul_z

Senior Member
Messi983 said:
So far so good.

Looks like Xavi recruited the right players and is now also integrating them into the team according to his plan. Some slower than others but that's understandable. You can't just put 6 new players into the lineup and expect them to gel immediately. I'm sure likes of Kessie and Christensen will become at least important players for rotations if not starters which is perfectly fine for players we've signed for free but big money signings like Lewy, Raphinha and Kounde are more or less penciled in starters who all started season well.

It's extremely important Lewy got off to a hot start not just because we need his goals to win games now but to silence the critics for what we've paid for a player of his age (50m really look like a bargain so far). People would go crazy if he'd need time to adapt and wouldn't score his first goal for 2-3 months like it happened with Suarez. But he looks like he's been here for years, not just for goals but overall involvement in the game. Also looks to have a positive influence and good understanding with the youngsters.

And then we have other "new signings" like Dembele, MATS, Eric and even Roberto. Hopefully they can keep up and improve on a good level they've shown so far. And then someone like Fati who I still believe could be one of if not our best "signing" if Xavi can manage his workload so he first gets back to full fitness and then can start to concentrate to improve him as a footballer. People sometimes forget he's only 19 when most players are still trying to break into the first team. Same with Pedri and Gavi who are really good players at their age but can and should still work to improve a lot in coming years. There will be growing pains and inconsistency which is expected from young players but really excited to see them develop right in front of us.

And then one thing I was the most worried when Xavi was hired and last season those concern didn't go away but now things seems to have changed is his handling of the veterans. Pique is clearly being phased out and only a 5th CB option. Alba is a 2nd and potentially a 3rd LB. Even if he'll start to play more again I think he'll have to actually deserve those minutes. Only remaining problem is that dinosaur in midfield but hopefully this is really his last season and Xavi will also manage his minutes better. He can still be useful in certain games but starting him in 90% of the games benefits neither him nor the team and hopefully Xavi is smart enough to realize that.

Generally I like how we're playing but ofc tactical improvements are still needed and expected. Xavi is still developing as a coach, new players adapting and youngsters developing. Physically wise I think we're doing well and if I'm not mistaken we ran more than our opponents in all games this season which was not often the case in previous years so I'll take thas as another positive. Results wise I would ofc liked to win against Rayo and first 60 minutes at Anoeta were not good but then again winning in San Sebastian and at Pizjuan (despite Sevilla starting season in bad form they're still a good team) is never easy. Three clean sheets in first 4 La Liga games are also welcomed although tbh we could have conceded a few more but overall think defense has improved since last year and ofc so did Ter Stegen.

Bayern next week will be the first real test for this "new" team and we'll see if Xavi can keep his unbeaten away record. While winning in Munich would be great and send a strong message to the rest of Europe and I'm quite optimistic ahead of this game I actually won't be disappointed if we won't win as long as we play well. Won't say playing better than we have in recent games against them because that bar is really set very very low so I expect drastic improvement and be competitive against what I still consider one of the best teams in Europe despite their best player now playing for us.

I think this team has a lot of untapped potential and is waiting for Xavi to unlock it but if we can play well against Bayern in September then I'm sure with an improvement I expect over the season we can do it again vs other top teams we could face in 6-7 months when it will be more important. Personally I still don't have too high expecations for a deep CL run this season so right now I'd say month of October with games every three days against some very good teams will be a much more telling sign if we're on the right track than whatever happens next week. In other words, showing consistent performances and getting good results while smartly using improved squad depth is more important to me than a good result in a single game against top opponent. But ofc winning in Germany would be a massive confidence boost for the team.
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October schedule looks fucked we have inter, celta, inter, madrid, villareal, bilbao, bayern, valencia in 3 weeks. Only positives are that we are playing celta, inter 2 leg, villareal bilbao and bayern at home. If we manage to get out of that with minimal losses it would be good.
 
Alik

Alik

Moderator
Kul_z said:
October schedule looks fucked we have inter, celta, inter, madrid, villareal, bilbao, bayern, valencia in 3 weeks. Only positives are that we are playing celta, inter 2 leg, villareal bilbao and bayern at home. If we manage to get out of that with minimal losses it would be good.
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Good thing we have a deep squad.
 
Messi983

Messi983

Senior Member
Tru

Just need to use this squad smart now.


Kul_z said:
October schedule looks fucked we have inter, celta, inter, madrid, villareal, bilbao, bayern, valencia in 3 weeks. Only positives are that we are playing celta, inter 2 leg, villareal bilbao and bayern at home. If we manage to get out of that with minimal losses it would be good.
Click to expand...

Yeah although for some reason we actually play better in away games under Xavi.
 
B

Barcilliant

Senior Member
iniestaGOAT said:
I know laporta was obsessed with tuchel but he better not sign that bum when the GOAT is managing us
Click to expand...

Yeah, he is a bum who made one cl final and won another. Meanwhile Xavi has only managed in Qatari league and got kid by Eintracht in El.

Don't speak to soon my friend. Xavi has proved nothing.
 
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iniestaGOAT

iniestaGOAT

Senior Member
Barcilliant said:
Yeah, he is a bum who made one cl final and won another. Meanwhile Xavi has only managed in Qatari league and got kid by Eintracht in El.

Don't speak to soon my friend. Xavi has proved nothing.
Click to expand...

Xavi has already proven he can get the team playing more entertaining football than tuchel has in his lifetime.

Which is all that matters.
 
Fati_Future_BallonDor

Fati_Future_BallonDor

Well-known member
iniestaGOAT said:
Xavi has already proven he can get the team playing more entertaining football than tuchel has in his lifetime.

Which is all that matters.
Click to expand...

you didnt see mainz and dortmund under tuchel, by the way success wise he got to cl final with PSG (highest achievement ever in club history) + won cl with Chelsea while beating Real Madrid and City
 
iniestaGOAT

iniestaGOAT

Senior Member
Fati_Future_BallonDor said:
you didnt see mainz and dortmund under tuchel, by the way success wise he got to cl final with PSG (highest achievement ever in club history) + won cl with Chelsea while beating Real Madrid and City
Click to expand...

Any buffoon can win a cup completion. Ever di Matteo went in there and got a CL

He couldn't do shit in the league vs elite competition. Then got sacked after spending 300m on garbage. 2 years after getting sacked from psg with elite talent. Playing some of the worst football the world has ever seen in both teams.
 
iniestaGOAT

iniestaGOAT

Senior Member
Xavi controls all of the details in the dressing room. Sources say that he tore down 3 whiteboards last season. He also knows which players do interviews, forces them to be honest in them, and is always aware of what they say.

He is that Dude man thats what i have been telling you clowns.
 
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