Please, let the praises come in. He deserves it. But there is a point where I have to stay stop, and y'all must take a few steps back and not cross a certain line where the praise would be far too high for him. So this isn't me hating, or being jealous or negative, I'm just a brother trying to spout the truth without any hidden agenda.
Let's start with the good....
Xavi presented the foundations of what you need to be a great central midfielder. No BS or unnecessary flair. One-touch passes, always with his head up, playing to simple pass but also knowing when to play the ball that will penetrate. He was the kind of player a teammate would dream to have. You could pass the ball to Xavi with three men around him, and he wouldn't lose the ball. That's because he was always three steps ahead. The ball always kept moving and critically, nine times out of ten, the right pass was made.
In the system that Pep expanded upon what Cruyff laid down, Xavi was perfect. Rijkaard wanted the ball to keep moving forward with an aggressive attacking style mixed with flair. Pep was all about the pass and another and another. Xavi was perfect for that. He may not have had the magic of Ronaldinho, but the boy knew how to pass. And the key thing is the opposition could never get the ball off him. If it came to drift past players, he did that. If he could find Iniesta or Messi making a run, he would find them and get that ball through the eye of a needle.
Now, this is where things can become too much...
Xavi was not the flashiest player. And I'm cool with that. But that is why he's not a player that really sticks in my mind. He was very much part of a function and system. If you put Xavi in some backyard team, he would be invisible. Hence why Rijkaard did not pick him because he just did not work in a free-flowing attacking style. So as far as versatility goes, you really can't give Xavi too many props for that.
When it comes to controlling a game, can we give that to Xavi? Has he ever controlled a game in the same sense as Zidane did to Brazil in 06? Or Pirlo did to England in 2012? I really don't think so. Because he didn't have the flamboyance or arrogant footballing personality that those two had. Which is not a insult to him, but then can we then put him on that throne of the best midfielder of his entire generation? That also includes Scholes as well, who had a bunch of bricks in England.
I want to end this by giving props to what Xavi has achieved for Barcelona. Not hating. But when people call him the greatest midfielder of his generation, I have to just say pause and give everyone some science before folks get carried away.
They better start building that statue of this dude. I want it finished by next Thursday afternoon...
Sent from the Hut
