I was never a fan.
Not of Spain, or even Xavi. Their brand of football did not excite me or fill me with any real joy or juice. But game recognises game, and I GOT game. And...Xavi was a player at a particular point, who was VITAL to Spain being successful.
Man, I just like my central midfielders to offer something in attack as well as defence. It is why I would put Vieira and Pirlo over Xavi, as the two former cats were more rounded and explosive in this role.
But, the beauty of football is that there are many facets to the game, and different qualities. Because although Xavi will never be seen as a great finisher who could pop in forty yard cracks, or a dude who could run back and perform a last ditch tackle...there are few players in history who kept the ball better than him.
So you might just say, why the heck should keeping the ball mean jack sugar to anybody? Well, one
of the FIRST things you must master when being a central midfielder before ANYTHING else is keeping the ball. That is the foundation before playing a key pass, or running with the ball to shoot. You have to start off with keeping possession of the football in order to pick the right moment for your wingers, attacking midfielders and strikers to get into the right positions.
But we need to connect Xavi to the system in which he was playing. Because if you were to put Xavi in that Dutch team of 2000 or the Brazil team of 2002 or the Dinho Barcelona team (two of which were under the great Rijkaard) then he wouldn't work. The tempo of those teams were a lot quicker, and there was a pressure of the ball having to constantly be moved forward. This was one of the main reasons why Xavi and Rijkaard never met eye-to-eye, because they both had different philosophies of football.
When Pep came in, and changed Barcelona from the all-out attack to keeping the ball and biding their time, there needed to be a nucleus who set the pulse for that way of playing. That is where Xavi came in and for the first time, was able to show the world where his excellence lied.
And back to Spain, they used that seed that Pep planted and let it grow into a team that others just were unable to crack. Again, Xavi was used, and his importance was key. Because this was about Spain wearing down their opponent by hogging the ball, that meant that it had to be given to a player who would NEVER lose that ball.
That was his brilliance.
You could give Xavi the ball with three players around him and he will know whether, to give it back with one touch, or time a turn to perfection, taking the three players out of the picture. He always made the right decision to maintain possession of the ball, no matter how many cats were around him.Can't forget the key passes made. As much as he kept that nugget, he also knew when to make a key pass, either as a through ball, or even a chip that lead to a goal. All still keeping possession of the cookie.
I think that is where you need to respect a player. Because I have never rated Xavi highly, and he is not in my view in the upper echelon of elite central midfielders that the game has seen. But game recognises game. He was amazing at a very VITAL part of being a central midfielder which lead to Spain "dominating" football for a period of time.
Give it up.
HH
