The Xavi Hernandez Appreciation Thread

Xavi6

That's right folks, it's time to lavish praise on the Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament and the most creative midfielder in the world.

So where does he rank in terms of all time great central midfielders? Did he merely have one lucky good tournament or is his presence the catalyst for Spain's revival? (Somehow he was an unused sub in Euro 2004 and only returned from a cruciate ligament injury a few weeks before the last World Cup).

Personally I love the guy and worship every complete pass he makes (which is quite a lot). He's also adding a goal scoring aspect to his game, bagging 5 in the qualifiers.

So, opinions?

From Uefa.com

Xavi emerges as EURO's top man

Spain midfielder Xavi Hernández has been named as the Castrol Player of the Tournament for UEFA EURO 2008™ after his stirring displays aided his nation to the title.

Tecnhicians' approval
The 28-year-old FC Barcelona player played in five games at the finals and scored once as Spain earned their first major international success since beating the Soviet Union in the final of the 1964 UEFA European Championship. His ability to dictate the pace of the game from midfield brought him to the attention of the UEFA Technical Team who decide upon the Castrol Player of the Tournament, taking into account votes from the public.

Growing reputation
The 1-0 final victory in Vienna marked Xavi's 63rd cap for Spain since making his debut – along with team-mate Carles Puyol – in a game against the Netherlands on 15 November 2000. He had been an unused squad player with Spain at UEFA EURO 2004™ in Portugal but was a first-team regular by the time of the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany, and showed maturity and no small amount of brilliance in Austria and Switzerland.

Mr Alan

Hes good alright, but hes no Alonso.

thread closed.

jank

Mr Alan wrote: »

Hes good alright, but hes no Alonso.

thread closed.

Alonso who is moving to Juve?

pvt.joker

He's good, but he's no Fabregas.

staker

A top class player of his kind. Was awesome last night.

_blank_

Fabregas will displace him in the next two years.

Mr Alan

jank wrote: »

Alonso who is moving to Juve?

well i hardly mean the ****er who drive the formula 1 cars do I?!

Mitch Connor

He's good, but he's no Fletcher.

Xavi6

Fabregas is great, he's 21, yadda yadda yadda.

My question was about Xavi. How does he compare to other great midfielders? Let's face it, he's won most of the big honours in the game and was deemed good enough to replace Guardiola.

IrishMike

Guardiola was well past his prime when that happened though.
He is a good player, not a great player as Dunphy would say.
Pirlo and Fabregas are still much much better than him imho *




*I may or may not be trolling to annoy you by the way!

Xavi for me is the best creative central midfielder in world fotball. He is one of those players that needs an enforcer beside him but anybody who regularly watches Barcelona knows what im talking about. The difference he makes to how they play is amazing.


Delighted for him that he picked up the award as he is often unsung.

gixerfixer

Pah.He's Ok.Nah only joking.The guy is incredible.One of the best in the world and to watch him in this tournament was a pleasure

Pepe LeFrits

He's good, but he's no Eddie McGoldrick.

He definately saved his best for last. Great display.

gimmick

If he was that good he would be playing in the premiership.

gimmick

gimmick wrote: »

If he was that good he would be playing in the premiership.

He's Catalan through and through. He's at the only club for him.

DSB

Best centre-mid around. What a player.

gimmick

Was there not talk of him going to Spurs recently?

A bizarre move I would have thought.

Predhead

Where's the Marcos Senna appreciation thread? He'd a better tournament imo and was Spain's best player.

Sherifu

He's ok I suppose.

Boggles

Blah I heard he has got Paul Scholes posters on his bedroom wall!

Tusky

Hes good but hes no Clinton Morrison.

Xavi6

Boggles wrote: »

Blah I heard he has got Paul Scholes posters on his bedroom wall!

You're lucky that youtube of Xavi nutsing him is no longer available.

Boggles

Xavi6 wrote: »

You're lucky that youtube of Xavi nutsing him is no longer available.

Oh yeah "no longer available" - Didn't Happen! That was a wet dream you were having!

The G Child

I think Xavi is one of the most under rated players in the world. He is never mentioned in the list of top midfielders in the world, yet there are not many better. For me, there is no midfielder better at keeping the ball and passing.

I disagree totally with Giles about Fabregas being far and away the best midfielder in the world. He couldn't get into the Spanish team because they were well stocked in the centre with Senna to do the donkey work and Xavi to tick things over. Fabregas is good, but if I was the Spanish manager I would have had him on the bench too. I find it funny that they were saying he should be fitted in at all costs, but last night he was brutal in a creative role. IMO, Xavi and Senna are the best Spanish midfield partnership that Spain have.

estebancambias

He's class but I prefer Iniesta.

I imagine it would be harder to play against Iniesta than it would Xavi.

Xavi6

Iniesta provides the flair, Senna provides the stability.

Xavi provides both.

eZe^

I think Ill get Xavi's name and number printed on my Spanish jersey, I already have Iniesta and Messi... Or maybe get it on the new Barca away jersey because the home one is absolutely disgusting...

jebuz

Your obsession with him is a little worrying, Xavi6. Surely a catch like him is married by now? If not, I think you should ask him out.

leninbenjamin

The G Child wrote: »

I find it funny that they were saying he should be fitted in at all costs, but last night he was brutal in a creative role.

hang on if you're going to dis Cesc at least get your facts right. Xavi and Iniesta player the central roles last night, Cesc was relegated to the role of wideman for the most. i'd like to see Xavi play out there...

considering how fragmented Cesc's performances were Xavi was the correct choice. but remember in some games it was Cesc who came on and made the difference where Xavi had been indifferent. but overall I'd rate Cesc just as good if not better. besides, remember Xavi's goal in the semi? the one where he ran into the box unmarked? who do you think it was had the intelligence to run across his path and drag the holding midfielder out of Xavi's way? that little run is my favourite moment in the entire tournament.

Xavi6

It's not so much an obsession, more of an appreciation. He has been seriously underrated in the past and I watch enough football to know a great player when I see one. I'd rather be a fan of someone like him who is dedicted to the club he loves rather than the money grabbing whores who make up most people's idols these days.

And for the record, he still lives at home and is a real family man.

eZe^

Xavi6 wrote: »

Fabregas is great, he's 21, yadda yadda yadda.

My question was about Xavi. How does he compare to other great midfielders? Let's face it, he's won most of the big honours in the game and was deemed good enough to replace Guardiola.

Guardiola was my favourite player of all time, and I was gutted when he was replaced at such a young age... But clearly Xavi has exceeded Guardiola's position... I love the man... Xavi 'perpendicular pass' Hernandez for life!!!

jebuz

Xavi6 wrote: »

It's not so much an obsession, more of an appreciation. He has been seriously underrated in the past and I watch enough football to know a great player when I see one. I'd rather be a fan of someone like him who is dedicted to the club he loves rather than the money grabbing whores who make up most people's idols these days.

And for the record, he still lives at home and is a real family man.

Ah I wasn't havin a go at ya, just a lighthearted dig if you will, seriously though if he is single...*nudges you*

Re: Xavi. Can't say I have seen a lot of him since I don't watch La Liga regularly, but I can still appreciate what he's done in Euro 2008, unbelievable passer of the ball...and also won me €10 when we all threw in a euro for first scorer against Russia. I'd now like to take this opportunity to thank Xavi Hernandez for paying for my taxi home that night.

Frisbee

Xavi had one, one and a half good games.
Fabergas was awesome in every game he played.

Fabregas to replace him by the time of the World Cup

Xavi6

Frisbee wrote: »

Xavi had one, one and a half good games.
Fabergas was awesome in every game he played.

Fabregas to replace him by the time of the World Cup

He was good in every game, he was just sensational in the last two.

In two years time he'll be 30. No one will be 'replacing' him, they'll be praying they get to play alongside him.

kerash

Have to say, Xavi deserved the best player accolade. Really enjoyed watching him play, and was raged when the manager took him off in the previous matches. Although when you have quality like Fabregas (and more) sitting on the bench is a tough one, I'd have Xavi on the team before anyone else and that says it all. Of course that's not saying Fab, Senna, Inestia, Puyol, Cassillas, Torres dont deserve a mention.

I just think It's great to watch a player like him and to have a good tournament. I think the spanish style of football suits him and although it'd be great to watch him in the premiership every week, i'm not sure of a club that would suit his style of play, bar Arsenal maybe...

Smegball

Always thought Xavi was a class player, between him Pirlo and Fabregas for best CM in football IMO, a pleasure to watch at the most of times.

kinaldo

Has been world class for many years now. The Ronaldnhos will come and go, but Xavi will always be there (at Barca). The thing that I love about him is he's sooooooooooo damn consistent. It's no coincidence that Barca and Spain always dominate the midfield possession. I don't think I've ever seen Barca play at home and not. Even at grounds like Old Trafford you can expect to dominate possession with him in the side.

Like his predecessor, Guardiola, what makes Xavi great is his cool head and uncanny ability to make space for himself, constantly keeping things ticking over by not giving the ball away, and appearing to have eyes in the back of his head. A bad game for Xavi is not a poor game as such, rather one where's he's not being the most influential player on the park. He makes everything looks so easy. That's what truly GREAT players do.

Barcelona and Spain are made for his style of play given their footballing philosophies. Playing in those setups for so long means he just keeps on getting better. At 28, last night should not be the pinnacle for him. Only injury will prevent him from being as good if not better in 2010.

As for comparisons with Fabregas - Xavi is the best at what he does and by far and away the most consistent. I think Fabregas has an extra creative spark and will eventually surpass his as a superior all round footballer. The line of midfielders to come out of Barcelona is absolutely frightening it has to be said - Guardiola, Xavi and now Fabregas. Not to mention Iniesta whom I don't rate as nearly as highly (but still a wonderful player).

Does anyone have a pic of Xavi and Ballack side by side? I knew Ballack is a beast and Xavi is mere pint-sized, but fcuking hell, seeing the contrast last night was hilarious!

An Citeog

kerash wrote: »

I just think It's great to watch a player like him and to have a good tournament. I think the spanish style of football suits him and although it'd be great to watch him in the premiership every week, i'm not sure of a club that would suit his style of play, bar Arsenal maybe...

I think his style of play is actually quite similar to that of Paul Scholes. He's a quality player and an absolute joy to watch in the flesh. He's exactly what you want a player to be off the pitch aswell, so it's nice to see him get the recognition he deserves.

The G Child

leninbenjamin wrote: »

hang on if you're going to dis Cesc at least get your facts right. Xavi and Iniesta player the central roles last night, Cesc was relegated to the role of wideman for the most. i'd like to see Xavi play out there...

considering how fragmented Cesc's performances were Xavi was the correct choice. but remember in some games it was Cesc who came on and made the difference where Xavi had been indifferent. but overall I'd rate Cesc just as good if not better. besides, remember Xavi's goal in the semi? the one where he ran into the box unmarked? who do you think it was had the intelligence to run across his path and drag the holding midfielder out of Xavi's way? that little run is my favourite moment in the entire tournament.

You must be a blinkered Arsenal fan are you? Don't know what match you were watching, but Iniesta played in the wide role with Silva interchanging. Fabregas was given a free role to influence the match. He didn't.

I'm not saying he wasn't good earlier in the tournament, as he was the player who constantly picked Spain up when they needed it. My point was that the in the centre of the park, Spain's best partenship was Xavi and Senna. The RTE commentators were going on saying he had to put in the team somewhere, and when he got the chance he didn't pull it off. Nothing against Fabregas, Just that Xavi is a better Central midfielder at this time, IMHO.

People dont appreciate a player like Xavi, he didn't have 1, 1 and a half good games as someone said earlier. He was constantly good, doing everything simple and keeping the play moving. The man never gives up possession.

In my opinion, Fabregas is in the same bracket as a Steven Gerrard, in that he is a very good player, but a headline grabbing player. He will one day be the best midfielder in the world, but at the moment he is behind Xavi, and to a lesser extent Pirlo, in the sense that they control and dictate the pace and tempo of games without being spectacular.

Pepe LeFrits

The G Child wrote: »

You must be a blinkered Arsenal fan are you? Don't know what match you were watching, but Iniesta played in the wide role with Silva interchanging. Fabregas was given a free role to influence the match. He didn't.

He's wrong about him being out wide but he's right about him being out of position. He was in the hole between Xavi and Torres and that isn't position.

I'm not saying he wasn't good earlier in the tournament, as he was the player who constantly picked Spain up when they needed it. My point was that the in the centre of the park, Spain's best partenship was Xavi and Senna. The RTE commentators were going on saying he had to put in the team somewhere, and when he got the chance he didn't pull it off. Nothing against Fabregas, Just that Xavi is a better Central midfielder at this time, IMHO.

Obviously it was the best partnership, it was the only partnership.

People dont appreciate a player like Xavi, he didn't have 1, 1 and a half good games as someone said earlier. He was constantly good, doing everything simple and keeping the play moving. The man never gives up possession.

There is more to fooball than keeping possession. At times in the earlier games Xavi was impeditive to Spain, he kept possession but didn't provide much penetration. Fabregas came on and did, and was rightly praised for it.

In my opinion, Fabregas is in the same bracket as a Steven Gerrard, in that he is a very good player, but a headline grabbing player. He will one day be the best midfielder in the world, but at the moment he is behind Xavi, and to a lesser extent Pirlo, in the sense that they control and dictate the pace and tempo of games without being spectacular.

That is what Cesc does when he is played in his correct position which never happened (except perhaps in the game vs Greece) at Euro 2008.

The G Child

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

He's wrong about him being out wide but he's right about him being out of position. He was in the hole between Xavi and Torres and that isn't position.

In fairness, that's a position he should have found easy enough. It restricts the amount of defending he has to do and allows him to do the damage in the attacking 3rd. Similar to Gerrard at Liverpool, where he ecxels in that role.

[/quote]Obviously it was the best partnership, it was the only partnership.[/quote]

Out of the 5 midfield players they had, the best partnership was Xavi and Senna as they offer the best balance that Spain need. Senna to do the donkey work and Xavi to tick things over. Alonso, Fabregas and De La Red are all good players, but these 2 are the best of the 5.

[/quote]There is more to fooball than keeping possession. At times in the earlier games Xavi was impeditive to Spain, he kept possession but didn't provide much penetration. Fabregas came on and did, and was rightly praised for it.[/quote]

I said that in my earlier post that Fabregas done well and lifted Spain when he came on. Football is not all about passing, but if you have a player who never gives the ball away and makes more passes than any other player, then you can starve the opposition of possesion and not allow them to get into a rythym. There are other players in the Spanish midfield who could provide the penetration, Iniesta for example, but that all depends on Xavi controlling and dictating the midfield.

[/quote]That is what Cesc does when he is played in his correct position which never happened (except perhaps in the game vs Greece) at Euro 2008.[/quote]

Fabregas is not as good at this as Xavi. Fabregas is a player who is being schooled in the Premiership and you can see it in aspects of his game. Xavi never gets flustered and keeps a cool head all the time. A bad day for Xavi means he didn't provide any killer passes like the one for the Torres goal. But he always keeps possesion and keeps the team playing well. Fabregas is a player who gets frustrated and can disapear from games. I dont think I've ever watched a game that Xavi was playing and thought he had a bad game, or went missing. But I have with Fabregas.

Remember, this is all about opinions and my opinion is that Fabregas will be one of the top players in the world in a few years time, but not now. Xavi controls every game he plays in (obviously not winning every game) and I rate him higher than Pirlo in this aspect. The only player that I would say can do this as good Xavi is Riquelme, but he disappears im big games. Xavi is consistently brilliant.

Pepe LeFrits

The G Child wrote: »

In fairness, that's a position he should have found easy enough. It restricts the amount of defending he has to do and allows him to do the damage in the attacking 3rd. Similar to Gerrard at Liverpool, where he ecxels in that role.

Fabregas and Gerrard are different players. Fabregas is at his best operating deep, where he can see the game in front of him and pull the strings.

Out of the 5 midfield players they had, the best partnership was Xavi and Senna as they offer the best balance that Spain need. Senna to do the donkey work and Xavi to tick things over.

Which is exactly what Flamini and Fabregas did at Arsenal last season.

Fabregas is a player who is being schooled in the Premiership and you can see it in aspects of his game.

He’s being schooled at Arsenal, who play a very similar game to Spain. In particular I recall Arsenal’s run to the CL final 3 seasons back when they used the same 4-1-4-1 system that Spain used with an 18 year old Fabregas in the Xavi role.

But he always keeps possesion and keeps the team playing well. Fabregas is a player who gets frustrated and can disapear from games.

Ney.

Death or Glory

He's not fit to eat Jonny Howsons sh*t

The G Child

Quote:
But he always keeps possesion and keeps the team playing well. Fabregas is a player who gets frustrated and can disapear from games.
Ney. "

Whats ney supposed to mean, that it never happens? Are you having a laugh? Fabregas is a petulant and temperamental player. He gets frustrated when things are not going his way. When teams get stuck into him he loses the rag. Any away game against the likes of Bolton and Blackburn spring to mind. I'm not saying he is not a great player, Just that Xavi is better. Your argument about Flamini and Fabregas is a non runner too. So what if they play that role at Arsenal. I'm not saying that Senna and Xavi invented those roles, just that they are the 2 best players in the squad to play them.

Pepe LeFrits

The G Child wrote: »

Whats ney supposed to mean, that it never happens? Are you having a laugh? Fabregas is a petulant and temperamental player. He gets frustrated when things are not going his way. When teams get stuck into him he loses the rag. Any away game against the likes of Bolton and Blackburn spring to mind. I'm not saying he is not a great player, Just that Xavi is better.

And I disagree. Every player has bad games, including Xavi. For example, Xavi was bad against Italy.

Your argument about Flamini and Fabregas is a non runner too. So what if they play that role at Arsenal. I'm not saying that Senna and Xavi invented those roles, just that they are the 2 best players in the squad to play them.

My argument? You said that Senna and Xavi are the best pairing because they provide balance, but me pointing out that Fabregas/Flamini did the same thing at club level is a non-runner because you say Xavi is better? Ooookay.

The G Child

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

And I disagree. Every player has bad games, including Xavi. For example, Xavi was bad against Italy.

My argument? You said that Senna and Xavi are the best pairing because they provide balance, but me pointing out that Fabregas/Flamini did the same thing at club level is a non-runner because you say Xavi is better? Ooookay.

This is all about opinions, you think one thing, and I think the other. That's fair enough. The reason I said your Fabregas/Flamini point was a non runner was because I don't feel it offers anything to the argument. Yes, Cesc can play the Xavi role, as Alonso could play the Senna role, but my opinion is that neither would offer more than Senna and Xavi. Maybe Fabregas could have been deployed alongside Xavi in a 4-3-3, with Silva and Iniesta in and around Torres, But Aragones went with 2 central midfielders, therefore Cesc lost out (rightly in my opinion and wrongly in yours). I don't mean to attck your opinions on this as I realise a lot (if not most) people will agree with you. Just that my opinion is players like Xavi never get the credit or recognition they deserve.

Pepe LeFrits

Xavi is an absolutely awesome player, I don't dispute this at all.

But.

It annoys me how often I see people using praise of Xavi (or Iniesta also) as an opportunity to get in dig at Fabregas or give him a back-handed compliment like “Oh yeah, Fabregas is a decent player (decent? fvck off), but player Z is superb…”. Now I realise that Exaggeration Eamonn and Hyperbole John saying Fabregas is by far and away the best midfielder in the world (obviously this isn’t right) this invites people to counter-exaggerate. But even still, over the last couple of months I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen Fabregas being negatively brought up by people praising Iniesta/Xavi, for no reason at all.

Also, I’m not really sure that Xavi doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He gets a lot of praise whenever I see him mentioned in the UK/Irish media, he’s fairly revered here on boards, and the impression I get from my brother who is a Barca fan living in Catalunya is that he is pretty much worshipped over there too. Maybe he isn’t held in quite the same regard in the British Isles but that’s only natural as there is always going to be some regional bias.

Boggles

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

Xavi is an absolutely awesome player, I don't dispute this at all.

But.

It annoys me how often I see people using praise of Xavi (or Iniesta also) as an opportunity to get in dig at Fabregas or give him a back-handed compliment like “Oh yeah, Fabregas is a decent player (decent? fvck off), but player Z is superb…”. Now I realise that Exaggeration Eamonn and Hyperbole John saying Fabregas is by far and away the best midfielder in the world (obviously this isn’t right) this invites people to counter-exaggerate. But even still, over the last couple of months I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen Fabregas being negatively brought up by people praising Iniesta/Xavi, for no reason at all.

Also, I’m not really sure that Xavi doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He gets a lot of praise whenever I see him mentioned in the UK/Irish media, he’s fairly revered here on boards, and the impression I get from my brother who is a Barca fan living in Catalunya is that he is pretty much worshipped over there too. Maybe he isn’t held in quite the same regard in the British Isles but that’s only natural as there is always going to be some regional bias.

If I had a choice today between signing Xavi or Fabergas, it would be Fabergas hands down.

Xavi is a fantastic player, but Fabergas is and will be different level. Just gone 21 FFS.

Pepe LeFrits

Boggles wrote: »

If I had a choice today between signing Xabi or Fabergas, it would be Fabergas hands down.

Xabi is a fantastic player, but Fabergas is and will be different level. Just gone 21 FFS.

I agree, but what about Xavi?

Xavi6

Lol was just gonna say the same thing!

Boggles

Xavi6 wrote: »

Lol was just gonna say the same thing!

Féck him, he is just a Paul Scholes wanna be.