Let's talk about soccer: Xavi and FC Barcelona. [ESP-ENG]
Hoy fue un día especial para los amantes del futbol, y es que el clásico de clásicos se jugó en España enfrentando a Real Madrid y al FC Barcelona. Partido que termino en una aplastante victoria del equipo Blaugrana por 4-0. Esto lo sabemos todos a estas alturas, quiero hablar de algo que ya para este punto es una realidad y es que el Barcelona de Xavi ya tiene todos los atributos necesarios para ser llamado asi, el Barcelona de Xavi.
Bienvenidos a mi post!
Today was a very special day for soccer lovers and Barcelona fans, because the classic of classics was played in Spain between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The match ended in a crushing 4-0 victory for the Blaugrana team. We all know this by now, I want to talk about something that by now is a reality and that is that Xavi's Barcelona already has all the necessary attributes to be called that way, Xavi's Barcelona.
Welcome to my post!
Xavi Hernández, leyenda del club blaugrana y de la selección española que ganó el mundial en el año 2010, llegó al Barcelona el 5 de noviembre de 2021 para convertirse en su entrenador, es decir tiene poco mas de 4 meses en el cargo, los inicios de Xavi en el equipo fueron bastante grises, el primer gran golpe fue la marcha de Messi, la estrella mas grande del equipo y mas allá de eso, habían problemas económicos internos y un ambiente bastante pesado y amargo que había dejado Ronald Koeman tras su paso como entrenador.
En enero perdió la supercopa de España contra Real Madrid y 8 días después fue eliminado de la Copa Del Rey por el Athletic Bilbao y desde ahí empezaron a sonar las alarmas amarillistas. Las portadas de los diarios españoles estaban llenas de imágenes con mensajes en contra de la figura del entrenador afirmando que estaba fracasando igual o peor que Koeman, lo cual en cierta forma es cierto, pues en los primeros 14 partidos de cada uno hubo bastantes malos resultados, pero estoy hay que verlo con objetividad y no con fanatismo.
Primero que nada, Xavi no tenia el equipo que tenia Koeman y si, estoy hablando de Leo Messi, Xavi tuvo que tomar las riendas de un Barcelona destrozado por la marcha de su astro y a eso sumado una crisis económica muy fuerte, el equipo necesitaba reforzarse pero no habia dinero en las arcas, entonces la inteligencia se hizo presente.
Xavi Hernandez, legend of the Blaugrana club and of the Spanish national team that won the World Cup in 2010, arrived at Barcelona on November 5, 2021 to become its coach, that is to say, he has been in charge for a little more than 4 months. Xavi's beginnings in the team were quite gray, the first big blow was the departure of Messi, the biggest star of the team and beyond that, there were internal economic problems and a rather heavy and bitter atmosphere left by Ronald Koeman after his time as coach.
In January they lost the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid and 8 days later they were eliminated from the Copa Del Rey by Athletic Bilbao and from then on the yellow alarms began to sound. The front pages of the Spanish newspapers were full of images with messages against the figure of the coach stating that he was failing the same or worse than Koeman, which in a way is true, because in the first 14 games of each one there were many bad results, but this has to be seen objectively and not with fanaticism.
First of all, Xavi did not have the team that Koeman had and yes, I am talking about Leo Messi, Xavi had to take the reins of a Barcelona destroyed by the departure of its star player and added to that a very strong economic crisis, the team needed to be reinforced but there was no money in the coffers, then intelligence was present.
Los Fichajes.
El trabajo que había que hacer en la gestión deportiva era incluso mas difícil que la del técnico ¿Cómo reforzar bien gastando poco? El Barcelona encontró ese punto y supo manejarlo muy bien. Primero que nada Xavi definió su estilo de juego, que los que lo seguimos desde siempre sabemos que ya había mostrado en su anterior equipo en Qatar. Luego se definió lo que necesitaba el equipo, lo primero era liberar la brecha salarial, vinieron las cesiones de Griezmann al Atlético de Madrid, Miralem Pjanić al Beşiktaş J. K y Francisco Trincão al Wolverhampton. También hubieron ventas, junto la dolorosa partida de Messi al PSG también ocurrió la salida de Coutinho al Aston Villa, Jean-Clair Todibo al Niza por 8.5M, Junior Firpo al Leeds por 15M, Aleñá al Getafe por 5M, Ilaix Moriba salió del equipo en una polémica venta al RB Leipzig por 16M y Emerson al Tottenham por 25M, entre otras ventas pequeñas. Pero al haber tantas bajas era obvio que debian llegar refuerzos, sobre todo en ataque y defensa. reforzar el ataque era necesario pues al Barcelona le faltaba mucho gol y el problema de salud de Sergio Agüero mermó bastante mas a una delantera que ya venia un poco floja, llegaron Ferran Torres y Adama Traoré desde Inglaterra junto a Eric García para la defensa, otro nombre que causó polémica fue el de Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, un jugador que venia de mas a menos desde hacia ya bastante tiempo y que muy poca gente vio con buenos ojos al momento de llegar pues había tenido incluso problemas de mal comportamiento en el Arsenal. También se sumó Dani Alves junto a Yusuf Demir, ya conformados los fichajes y la plantilla con la que iba a trabajar, llegó el primer punto de inflexion.
The signings.
The work to be done in sports management was even more difficult than that of the coach: How to reinforce well while spending little? Barcelona found that point and knew how to manage it very well. First of all, Xavi defined his style of play, which those of us who have always followed him know he had already shown in his previous team in Qatar. Then he defined what the team needed, the first thing was to free up the salary gap, came the transfers of Griezmann to Atlético de Madrid, Miralem Pjanić to Beşiktaş J. K and Francisco Trincão to Wolverhampton. There were also sales, along with Messi's painful departure to PSG there was also the departure of Coutinho to Aston Villa, Jean-Clair Todibo to Nice for 8.5M, Junior Firpo to Leeds for 15M, Aleñá to Getafe for 5M, Ilaix Moriba left the team in a controversial sale to RB Leipzig for 16M and Emerson to Tottenham for 25M, among other small sales. But with so many departures it was obvious that reinforcements had to come in, especially in attack and defense. Reinforcing the attack was necessary because Barcelona lacked a lot of goals and Sergio Agüero's health problem had further diminished a striker who was already a bit weak, Ferran Torres and Adama Traoré arrived from England along with Eric García for the defense, another name that caused controversy was that of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a player who had been going from strength to strength for quite some time and that very few people saw with good eyes when he arrived because he had even had problems of bad behavior at Arsenal. Dani Alves and Yusuf Demir also joined the team, and once the signings and the squad with which he was going to work had been formed, the first turning point arrived.
La Mentalidad.
Este es quizás el cambio mas grande que causó Xavi en el equipo, abiertamente los jugadores han declarado que cambio por completos los entrenamientos haciéndolo mas intensos pero mas allá de eso, les devolvió el hambre de victoria, los hizo ser de nuevo un equipo competitivo y con un estilo claro, además que causo una subida increíble en el nivel de los jugadores. Dejo algunos ejemplos:
Aubameyang, en su temporada anterior antes de venir a Barcelona jugó apenas 15 partidos (en toda la temporada) y marcó 7 goles, números no tan malos, si, pero en Barcelona (llegó en Enero) lleva ya jugados 11 partidos y ha marcado 9 goles mas 1 asistencia, un promedio de gol de 0.82, el tercero mejor de su carrera hasta ahora.
Ferran Torres que en 2 temporadas con el Manchester City apenas jugó 43 partidos, marcó 16 goles y dio 4 asistencias, esta temporada ha jugado 14 partidos, ha marcado 6 goles y ha dado 5 asistencias, por proyección, ya esta pasando su marca de sus dos ultimas temporadas.
Adama Traoré, muy criticado en su ultima temporada en Inglaterra por un muy bajo rendimiento se ha convertido en pieza clave del equipo de Xavi con 4 asistencias y 1 gol en 14 partidos jugados, en Wolverhampton jugó 154 y marcó 11 goles con 18 asistencias, así que por proyección esta llamado a dejar esos números muy muy atrás.
Y quizás para mi el mas importante de todos hasta ahora:
- Ousmane Dembélé, que en 21 partidos esta temporada ha marcado dos goles, que si, es poco, pero a dado 9 asistencias igualando su mejor marca con el equipo hasta ahora y mas allá de eso, ha vuelto ese instinto desequilibrante que tuvo en su mejor momento en el Dortmund y ha estado ya un buen tiempo alejado de las lesiones que tanto le han mermado su carrera. ¿se terminará quedando en el equipo de Xavi? Ojala que si, porque lo esta haciendo de maravilla.
Y a todo esto hay que sumarle que jugadores muy señalados de mala manera como Pique, Jordi Alba o Sergio Busquets están otra vez jugando como cuando era Xavi el que manejaba los hilos del mediocampo con la ayuda de estos jugadores y para terminar, hay que hablar claramente del nivel que esta teniendo Pedri, que ya lo venia haciendo bien pero esta temporada ha explotado.
The Mentality.
This is perhaps the biggest change that Xavi caused in the team, openly the players have stated that he completely changed the training sessions making them more intense but beyond that, he gave them back the hunger for victory, he made them be again a competitive team with a clear style, and he also caused an incredible rise in the level of the players. Here are some examples:
Aubameyang, in his previous season before coming to Barcelona he played just 15 games (in the whole season) and scored 7 goals, not bad numbers, yes, but in Barcelona (he arrived in January) he has already played 11 games and has scored 9 goals plus 1 assist, a goal average of 0.82, the third best of his career so far.
Ferran Torres who in 2 seasons with Manchester City barely played 43 games, scored 16 goals and provided 4 assists, this season has played 14 games, scored 6 goals and provided 5 assists, by projection, he is already passing his record of his last two seasons.
Adama Traoré, who has very much criticized in his last season in England for a very low performance now has become a key piece of Xavi's team with 4 assists and 1 goal in 14 games played, in Wolverhampton he played 154 games and scored 11 goals with 18 assists, so by this projection he is called to leave those numbers and levels very far behind for sure.
And perhaps for me the most important of all so far:
- Ousmane Dembélé, who in 21 games played this season has scored two goals, which yes, is little for a striker, but he has given 9 assists on those games equaling his best mark with the team so far and beyond that, he has returned that unbalancing instinct that he had in his prime at Borussia Dortmund and has already been a good time away from injuries that have both depleted his career. will he end up staying in Xavi's team? Hopefully yes, because he is doing great.
And to all this we must add that players very badly marked as Pique, Jordi Alba or Sergio Busquets are again playing as when Xavi was the one who pulled the strings of the midfield with the help of these players and finally, we must speak clearly of the level that is taking Pedri and Frenkie De Jong, who was already doing well but this season has exploded In a great job with Busquets.
Los Resultados.
Eran los mas esperados, todavía recuerdo aquellas pancartas que decían ''Dejen Trabajar a Xavi'' y si que tenían razón, el juego de posesión enamoró en Barcelona desde los tiempos de Cruyff y luego Guardiola lo catapultó a la fama mundial en 2009, este Barcelona de Xavi por momentos juega a eso y se asemeja mucho a lo que hacia el Barcelona por allá en 2011, ha mantenido una posesión media del 65% en los 25 partidos que lleva dirigidos, que se dividen en 14 victorias, 7 empates y 4 derrotas, es decir un 65.33% de rendimiento, con 50 goles a favor y 28 en contra. Xavi perdió 4 partidos, que es la mitad de lo que había perdido el Barcelona (8) en todo lo que iba de temporada antes de su llegada (22 partidos) y a su ves, ganó 14 encuentros, 3 mas que los que había ganado el Barcelona antes que llegara al equipo (11). Es decir, ya ganó mas y perdió menos en casi la misma cantidad de partidos antes de su llegada.
Yendo mas hacia lo animico, las victorias que ha conseguido han sido muy buenas, destacando por su puesto el 4-0 de hoy frente a un Real Madrid que venia entonadísimo tras haber eliminado al PSG de la Champions en una gesta épica, pero también destaca la victoria contra Galatasaray para meterse a cuartos de Europa League, y sendas victorias contra Osasuna, Athletic club, Napoli, Valencia y Atlético de Madrid, todas ellas con 4 goles en el marcador, una locura total lo que esta haciendo este Barcelona.
The Results.
They were the most expected off course, I still remember those banners at the begining of his work with some bad results that said ''Let Xavi work'' and yes they were right, the possession game fell in love in Barcelona since the times of Cruyff and then Guardiola catapulted it to world fame in 2009, Xavi's Barcelona at times plays like that and is very similar to what Barcelona was doing back in 2011, he has maintained an average possession of 65% in the 25 games he has been in charge, which is divided into 14 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats, that is a 65. 33% performance, with 50 goals scored and 28 conceded. Xavi lost 4 matches, which is half of what Barcelona had lost (8) in the whole season before his arrival (22 matches) and at the same time, he won 14 matches, 3 more than Barcelona had won before his arrival (11). In other words, he won more and lost less in almost the same number of matches before his arrival.
Going more towards the animic, the victories he has achieved have been very good, highlighting of course the 4-0 win today against a Real Madrid that came on fire after having eliminated PSG from the Champions League in an epic feat, but also highlights the victory against Galatasaray to get into the quarterfinals of the Europa League, and victories against Osasuna, Athletic club, Napoli, Valencia and Atletico Madrid, all with 4 goals on the scoreboard, a total madness what this Barcelona is doing in this current season.
El Futuro.
Primero que nada, se esta especulando mucho de un posible retorno de Messi, me encantaria verlo jugar bajo las ordenes de Xavi, mas allá de eso, el domingo 3 de Abril tiene un duro partido contra Sevilla, seguido por Frankfurt 2 veces por Europa League y con el Levante en medio, el calendario de Abril se ve bastante cargado para este Barcelona que jugará 7 partidos en 1 mes y luego 5 mas en el siguiente y esto si son eliminados de Europa, porque si le ganan al Frankfurt seguro enfrentaran las Semifinales también en Mayo. Una buena noticia es que para mediados de Abril Ansu Fati estará disponible para jugar.
¿Los Fichajes?
Sigue estando dificil la situacion economica pero ya hay mas espacio para respirar, se habla mucho de una posible Andreas Christensen y tambien de Erling Haaland ¿se hará realidad esto ultimo? ojalá, ojalá. Por ahora no queda mas que disfrutar lo que esta haciendo ''La Xavineta'' y seguir celebrando los triunfos de un Barcelona que esta sacando su mejor cara en el momento que mas le hacia falta.
The future.
First of all, there is a lot of speculation about a possible return of Lionel Messi to Barcelona, and I have to say it, I would love to see him play under Xavi's orders, beyond that, on Sunday, April 3, he has a tough game against Sevilla, followed by Frankfurt twice in the Europa League and with Levante in the middle, the April calendar looks quite busy for this Barcelona that will play 7 games in 1 month and then 5 more in the next and this if they are eliminated from Europe, because if they beat Frankfurt they will surely face the Semifinals also in May. A good news is that Ansu Fati will be available to play by mid-April.
The Transfers?
The economic situation is still difficult but there is more room to breathe, there is much talk of a possible Andreas Christensen and also of Erling Haaland, will the latter come true? Hopefully. For now, there is nothing left to do but enjoy what ''La Xavineta'' is doing and continue celebrating the triumphs of a Barcelona team that is showing its best face at the moment it most needed.
I have just seen your post and has slipped through the cracks. I think tag Full Deportes at the same time as it is spanish/english and they are part of the ocd curation program as well now.
I can tag my post in both communities? I didn't know that, I wanted to try here with the double language but it's also a good idea to create content in my native language which is Spanish, I have to read the rules of that community first but thanks for the tip.
Oh my, why does this post have only this few upvotes? This is a dissertation of a sports presentation.
Respects to you sir.
I support your highlighting Dembele under "mentality". Though I don't feel it is fair to call him a striker,he isn't in the real sense; it's only that he has so much talent that, he is expected to chip in with goals. Be my guest, as my latest post takes a look at this amazing talent.
Mentality indeed is key and you said it well. I want to show you a picture and I am looking at mentality here,a coach has to drum it into his boys so they keep hearing him even in his absence—
Cheers
Well I think that's because @cryptoandcoffee hasn't seen the post yet, I think he's the one in charge of casting the votes in the community, and thank you very much for the words, I appreciate the message very much.
Well thinking about it you are right, Dembele in Dortmund did not play as a striker, not even as a winger if not more delayed, in midfield on the right, but yes, you can see how his mentality has changed, he wants to compete and with the talent he has, he is noticed on the field, yesterday Carvajal suffered too much against him.
Exactly, if this image is true (which it probably is) it shows that having a good team is not the same as always having a winning mentality, and that's what Barcelona showed yesterday, they worked 100% as a block and overcame a Real Madrid team that at least in names, looked superior.
!PIZZA
You guys seem to be oppressing those of us punching our phone pads.🙂 Even your reply is colourful. A Computer right?
Well Dembele,Alba,Pique,even Busquets somewhat, is not so much of mentality change. The coach has created a system that has helped them feel comfortable playing. Barca fans were complaining about the first three names majorly. Did you see my post link above Alba? Alba was even being benched under Koeman. But now,Alba is reborn.
It's not a change of mentality, it is a change of system by the coach.
I appreciate your gift and having this conversation too. I hope Mr cryptoandcoffee sees your brilliant post.
Cheers
HAHAHAHA, I have made the answer from the mobile, although the post was in PC, and of course, Xavi has had everything to do in this change, his work has a lot of merit.
Cheers too!
Oh a phone! Wow some phones are something else.🙂
Yes sir, "his work has a lot of merit".👏
Con el partido de ayer, se corrobora que podemos pelear los partidos con un gran nivel, sin necesidad de fichar a jugadores como Haaland. Todo está en confiar en el equipo como conjunto, en vez de las individualidades.
En eso también tienes mucha razón, este equipo funciona así, como un equipo, incluso Dembele que a veces es muy individualista ha vuelto a ser ese repartidor de asistencias que fue una vez en Alemania, a pesar de eso yo si veo con buenos ojos la llegada de un joven talento como Halaand, su aporte en goles pondría a este Barcelona en un escalón aun mas arriba, eso claro sin abandonar esa bonita esencia de equipo que tiene.
!PIZZA
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