Xavi Hernández

FCBarca

FCBarca

Mike the Knife
vegitot said:
Messi was top 3 Ballon dor and Fifa Poty when Pep took over. Beside Pep had much better squad. Season before club failed miserably in Liga but actually played well in UCL, even dominated Manu in semi final.
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He won his 1st BdO subsequent to Pep, before that he had yet to play a full season without being injured. Barca's 2 best other players were sent packing in Ronnie & Deco. Pep did more (Everything) with an arguably weaker squad from the year before because of his approach, further highlighting talent gets you only so far - coaching gets you further
 
Birdy

Birdy

Senior Member
FCBarca said:
He won his 1st BdO subsequent to Pep, before that he had yet to play a full season without being injured. Barca's 2 best other players were sent packing in Ronnie & Deco. Pep did more (Everything) with an arguably weaker squad from the year before because of his approach, further highlighting talent gets you only so far - coaching gets you further
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NO! Just NO!

Ronnie was done, Deco was declining
Messi would have won ballon d'Or in 2008 if there was no Ronaldo around
Iniesta Xavi Puyol were already Euro Winners under a different coach before Pep coached them

You can't distort reality to fit your views
 
V

vegitot

Senior Member
FCBarca said:
He won his 1st BdO subsequent to Pep, before that he had yet to play a full season without being injured. Barca's 2 best other players were sent packing in Ronnie & Deco. Pep did more (Everything) with an arguably weaker squad from the year before because of his approach, further highlighting talent gets you only so far - coaching gets you further
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Messi won his 1st under Pep but he was already top 3 players in the world before Pep. Pep also had Euro 2008 best player Xavi and his partner Iniesta who was a beast already...

Now you compare it to Xavi if he coaches Barca now. Tell me which squad is better.
 
behindbrowneyes

behindbrowneyes

Well-known member
FCBarca said:
I wouldn't call the step from the 4th division to senior level a direct transition - he skipped several levels of league in between. The point was really about getting his message across to his players to play in a style that effused Barca/Cruyff principles

Easy way for Xavi is a matter of opinion - it's true he is more insulated and with less pressure in Doha but you're kidding yourself if you think Pep had much pressure/scrutiny in the 4th division. Even Zidane struggled with RMs youth team as did Lucho with the B team. Unwillingness to take a step down after coaching at a higher level doesn't equate to arrogance and I certainly don't view even a 3rd division B team experience better than that of Al Sadd - why? Because you know the players? The experience comparison is very weak, if anything Xavi's success with Al Sadd speaks more than that of the 4th division success. There is no guarantee another Pep will come along but there is also no question no one has a more similar resume to provide the coaching most of us crave than Xavi

Font lost the election for a number of reasons, not least of which was the tepid support he got from Xavi who had no intention to put himself between him & Laporta
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The B-team is the most advanced team in the club's hierarchy before taking the hot seat in Camp Nou, no matter if it is 4th or 2nd division. Of course the decision was taken about style, principles,, working methods. That's the point. It is not about pressure, neither in 4th division of Spain nor in Qatar. No Scrutiny? Who says that? Pep worked at the club and you get a clearer idea of his work than you do of Xavi working for a club in an "exotic" league. You can watch football from everywhere now and see every game of Al-Sadd, yes. But there is a big difference between watching a game and having someone actually work at the same club. You have much more intern information, opinions from people within the club, etc. No one knows how Xavi is internally. He could be very stubborn or showing patterns that wouldn't work at a club like Barcelona.

No one at the club is taking this Qatari league seriously. Xavi would have it much easier now if he'd had coached Barca B in past season or even just a few games after Pimienta got fired.
 
V

vegitot

Senior Member
Xavi: ?It?s not my idea to coach Bar?a B, to be honest. I?m coaching in men?s football and consider the B side to be a development team. I?m working with professional football, in the elite - so that wouldn?t be the idea?

And he coaches in Qatar while he can easily move to Europe.

Either he is so confident (arrogant also) or it is just all talk.
 
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FCBarca

FCBarca

Mike the Knife
behindbrowneyes said:
The B-team is the most advanced team in the club's hierarchy before taking the hot seat in Camp Nou, no matter if it is 4th or 2nd division. Of course the decision was taken about style, principles,, working methods. That's the point. It is not about pressure, neither in 4th division of Spain nor in Qatar. No Scrutiny? Who says that? Pep worked at the club and you get a clearer idea of his work than you do of Xavi working for a club in an "exotic" league. You can watch football from everywhere now and see every game of Al-Sadd, yes. But there is a big difference between watching a game and having someone actually work at the same club. You have much more intern information, opinions from people within the club, etc. No one knows how Xavi is internally. He could be very stubborn or showing patterns that wouldn't work at a club like Barcelona.

No one at the club is taking this Qatari league seriously. Xavi would have it much easier now if he'd had coached Barca B in past season or even just a few games after Pimienta got fired.
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Not then it wasn't, it was on the verge of being disbanded altogether. Even Txiki & Laporta tried to convince Pep not to coach the B team but that's what he wanted, anonymity to work on his approach and that includes less pressure. It worked. You can be critical of Xavi's decision to take money in Qatar to coach in anonymity but he has worked on his approach while being paid well and without scrutiny, even with the B team he would not have gotten that with all eyes expecting Pep 2.0

No one needs to take Qatar or Al Sadd seriously but cannot be any less serious than a 4th division Spanish team on the verge of being disbanded - anything else is revisionism
 
Raketa10

Raketa10

Senior Member
It looks like he will be our new coach. MD claims that Laporta has nothing against him becoming Keman's successor. We can only hope that he will end up like Zidane, Pep or Lucho and not Pirlo, Lampard or Henry. IMHO considering our other options he is the best choice right now. I would also bet on him.
 
behindbrowneyes

behindbrowneyes

Well-known member
Raketa10 said:
It looks like he will be our new coach. MD claims that Laporta has nothing against him becoming Keman's successor. We can only hope that he will end up like Zidane, Pep or Lucho and not Pirlo, Lampard or Henry. IMHO considering our other options he is the best choice right now. I would also bet on him.
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If Xavi and Roberto Martinez is really the best we can get, then I take Xavi any day and hope that he'll end up like Pep or Lucho before we get another proven average manager.
 
serghei

serghei

Senior Member
behindbrowneyes said:
If Xavi and Roberto Martinez is really the best we can get, then I take Xavi any day and hope that he'll end up like Pep or Lucho before we get another proven average manager.
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Exactly my fears as well. Roberto Martinez is another EV/Koeman naming who will be largely irrelevant in the rebuilding process. Relatively experienced manager who didn't train a single big club and was sacked by some midtable clubs.
 
jairzinho

jairzinho

Senior Member
At any other top club, if there's a choice between these 2, Martinez easily gets the job. It's a no brainer. And i'm not even a big fan of the guy. At least you could argue he has some PL and international experience, has worked with big players, manged in WC, Euros etc.

Xavi's name only comes up because he is Xavi. Nothing else. And nostalgia and barca go hand in hand. Coaching in a bum league where nobody even knows the names of the players means nothing. He wouldn't even be a candidate for a post at most La liga teams.
 
M

mc_lovin

Senior Member
jairzinho said:
At any other top club, if there's a choice between these 2, Martinez easily gets the job. It's a no brainer. And i'm not even a big fan of the guy. At least you could argue he has some PL and international experience, has worked with big players, manged in WC, Euros etc.

Xavi's name only comes up because he is Xavi. Nothing else. And nostalgia and barca go hand in hand. Coaching in a bum league where nobody even knows the names of the players means nothing. He wouldn't even be a candidate for a post at most La liga teams.
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Which is a damn good argument to be fair. There are only a handful of people like Xavi.
 
JohnN

JohnN

Senior Member
jairzinho said:
At any other top club, if there's a choice between these 2, Martinez easily gets the job. It's a no brainer. And i'm not even a big fan of the guy. At least you could argue he has some PL and international experience, has worked with big players, manged in WC, Euros etc.

Xavi's name only comes up because he is Xavi. Nothing else. And nostalgia and barca go hand in hand. Coaching in a bum league where nobody even knows the names of the players means nothing. He wouldn't even be a candidate for a post at most La liga teams.
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I don't argue with you but actually what I posted in the poll is my thinking.
Martinez is a known quantity. Xavi is a wild card.
In a season without any expectations (one of many with our current financials) we don't need a certified mediocre manager. We also don't need a top manager because we will just waste his years with this squad. We need to bet on someone either making it big or failing big time. We can't rebuild by playing it safe.
 
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