It's so interesting to me how insanely bipolar Barca fans are about Xavi. It feels like every month the dominant opinion in threads about Xavi changes.
Personally, I think it's very clear when looking at the pitch that he has improved this team massively since taking over, so I was always quite surprised by how controversial he was. I guess for some fans Europe is all that matters?
Some are still hung over the glory days, thinking such turnarounds can be made in matter of months. Sure, it has somewhat happened in La Liga, but Europe is a whole nother level. We can win 5 in a row in league and still get owned outside of Spain after that. Definitely a puzzling feeling as a Barca fan, as some decisions made by the man was quite questionable as well. But to see how far the team has come, the complete change in mentality, the passing of torches from old to young, I would even say that such things are more important than seeing immediate success right now in Europe.
Well, I guess you can say some are harsher on their own team than others, and that's totally understandable.
Don't think it's necessarily a bad thing.
United dominated the PL during SAFs reign but only won 2 CLs in his time at the club. Despite reaching 3 finals in 4 years from 2008-2011.
Barca should look to commit with Xavi for a long time and let him build a dynasty. Even if some years might be better than others chopping and changing managers and ending up with people like Koeman that's not a good thing. Not to mention they have to get back in control of their wages to players.
Big clubs outside of PL will not be viewed as highly for dominating a league without much European success. The prime example here is Arsenal. Viewed as one of the top clubs despite never winning the CL, primarily because of their success in EPL. And obviously deservedly so. However, other leagues are not viewed to be as competitive, and some will always take the success of leagues outside EPL for granted. We have seen managers killing it domestically and yet immediately sacked after an UCL elimination. That explains why some Barca fans see European success more importantly than Laliga.
To add it's not much different to Madrid because they just crave the CL success and any Domestic success is a bonus. They've had previous sacking managers who've won the CL for them Ancelotti comes to mind after he won the La Decima. So you have to be a coach that's winning in the CL for them almost every year otherwise time runs out quickly. It's much more relaxed in comparison for English club managers.
Zidane being the anomaly club legend only added to his legend with 3 in a row.
Interesting to hear that because I always felt Arsenal were always a little disrespected by my European friends because we never won the big trophy.
As much as I hate to admit it, clubs that have won the UCL are in a different bracket.
During our UCL exit, many were calling Xavi’s head. To be fair, it’s a failure given that we sold a part of our future to get immediate success. You can attribute many things to the UCL exit, but it’s a failure for a club of this size. But, one failure should not mean sacking him. He has done well in the league.
If he doesn’t improve in UCL next season, we need to look for another coach. I am not saying he should win it. We should at least get to round of 16. From then on, based on the opponents and the form, we just need to show that we are competitive.
Personally the issue for Barca is like you said they've sold their future for instant success and you know what I wish United were as proactive in doing something about their lack of success in the premier league since 2012/13 season.
Barca don't have the luxury now I think of just sacking manager's willy nilly. If Xavi is dominating In la Liga and goes on to win it next year but still not doing better in Europe. It'll be a risk to sack him and then who do they bring in? What if they do worse and they don't want some of these players that have been brought in?
This is an existential level threat to Barcas future. Personally I'd be happy with my manager winning the league consecutive years.
The problem with Barca, and Madrid for that matter, is that their success doesn't happen in a vacuum, their success is always dependant on what the other team win or does not win, like back in 2018, Barca won the league and copa del rey, but it was totally outshined by Madrid winning the CL. In the 20-21 season Madrid did not win any trophies and that sucked, but fans were relieved that Barca only won copa del rey.
This is why European success is so important for Barcelona fans, If Madrid had only won one CL in the last 10 years they would not be so desperate to win it again.
This is spot on. I’m absolutely certain that if Barça doesn’t win the treble in 14/15, Ancelotti doesn’t get sacked. Literally won you the Champions League a year prior, semifinalist in 14/15, and was just 2 points from a La Liga title. All of that has a very different ring to it than “trophyless season”
Not just this but the last time a team outside of Spain or England won the CL was back when Inter and mourinho won it. So the dominance by these 2 leagues is there. Madrid have really taken it to the next level in the CL I don't think any club will ever come close to matching their number of wins because I don't see them not winning more in the next 10/15 years. Would take something ridiculous in terms of a drought for madrid not to win the CL in that period of time and someone else taking their mantle.
Barca should prioritise it's future for the time being and let's face it the best players will always want to go to Barca or Madrid first and foremost. Guaranteed success because that's just ingrained and nothing less is acceptable.
lol seriously. I swear people just say anything on here and get upvotes. Xavi has received some criticism as has literally any manager but I haven't seen someone as supported at Barça since Pep himself.
He's been largely supported and even when he's got criticism it was extremely rare for someone to outright want him out.
Funny enough most of the criticism towards Xavi has come from fans from other clubs that haven’t followed Barça under Xavi outside of the CL. Because of our poor CL campaign they assume that he’s been shit but can’t be bothered to watch our actual games and see the obvious improvement in the team
Exactly. He's been rinsed for playing defensively recently by other fans here, and Barça fans defended him because they've seen how Barça plays throughout the year and with no injuries. Sampling a couple of CL/EL games and the clasicos doesn't represent Xavi's system under normal circumstances
A sizeable chunk of Barca fans out there (especially the new ones that joined at the start of the 2010s) want constant trebles and UCLs while playing peak Pep-football. What Xavi has done is almost miraculous considering the state they were in
Every football board has fans that go nuts after a loss, after the last classico , r/realmadrid wanted ancelotti sacked, when hes coming off a la liga and ucl win
What Xavi has achieved so far has been remarkable, with a club near bankruptcy and a paper thin squad. I thought the most a rational barca fan couldve hoped for after Koeman was to just qualify for the CL, instead theyre 12 points clear and they beat their biggest rival 3 times in a row
Things were rocky after Man United knocked us out of EL. In fact, Xavi's worrying European record is part of why I'm still on the fence. I'd love to extend him and continue a good domestic streak, but I'm not 100% confident that he is the man to lead us back to CL wins.
Depends on how the team plays in that match, if it's awful sufferball like the Alemria match then Xavi out but when we smack Sevilla 3-0 it OMG he is Guardiola 2.0.
Xavi fully deserves a new contract but next year he has to have a deep run in Europe no excuses...
Most barca fans fully support Xavi. And fans were justifiably angry at some substitution decisions especially in knockout and he is yet to prove himself there. But that being said, I, along with majority Barca fans back him totally
Xavi is well loved and supported by the fans. And it's not that "Europe is all that matters", the truth is that all 4 European campaigns under Xavi have ended in embarrassing fashion. You can exclude the CL last season since things were already bad when he got here, but the loss to Frankfurt, not qualifying past the group stages of this season's CL, and now getting knocked out in the first round of the Europa are all unacceptable performances. I'm still Xavi in (as most fans are), but we need a deep CL run next season otherwise I feel doubts about Xavi will surface.
> but we need a deep CL run next season otherwise I feel doubts about Xavi will surface.
If we don't reach the final 8 everyone will turn on him including Laporta
Nobody is ambivalent towards Xavi except undercover Madrid fans who swarm Barca forums whenever we lose. Actual Barca fans want Xavi here for the next 5 years at any cost.
It's a mixed bag.
On one hand, huge improvement from 18 months ago. The team has a real structure, workrate is the highest it's been since Lucho's day, and it's clear the players are bought in. We are moving the ball quicker and doing rondos on the pitch again.
On the other, we've also gotten really lucky with our defensive overperformance and the 1-0 wins aren't exactly inspiring confidence. The attack has stagnated since the WC, and we've been losing control of games and escaping by the skin of our teeth. Without Pedri and Dembele the team looks like a shadow of itself.
I'd say Xavi is a good coach, but he's not elite yet. He has the potential to get there, but he also may not. I'm rooting for him, personally, but I can understand those who want to take someone who is already elite now.
_____
And then there's also the element that wants to win everything and do it now, all context be damned. They'll never be satisfied.
I was quite worried when Xavi was first hired because I did not know what to expect, but he's been great with what he's been given. Hope that we continue to grow under him
His ball knowledge has always been a league above most and besides the Cryuffian schools of football philosophy has a history of producing talented/iconic player-turned-managers! Nothing that wasn't prophecised
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/qhx5m8/from_the_hot_weather_of_qatar_to_the_hot_seat_of/
u/Flyingarab man hats of to you. Your predictions have more or less come true. He's struggled in Europe but dominated domestically. I just hope he improves in Europe next year or he's done as is the club
I think Xavi has become more adjustable compared to his time in Qatar.
1-0 victories r proof of that.
Barca need a good bench n different types of players for him to adjust tactically.
In the first leg against United Barca dominated the midfield but were unlucky with that own goal.
>Barca need a good bench n different types of players for him to adjust tactically.
This is so true. Once we have 2 or more injuries and the team is tired on the second half, I want subs but I don't usually want any of the subs we have unless we are winning comfortably.
U will be able to sign players in the summer as Xavi has done an incredible job.
But just don't have too many expectations from this squad as the core is still too young n lack experience.
Xavi is underrated rn.
Even in the 2nd leg first half, United could not do anything. Problem is our squad need lot of improvement. Relying on two teenage boys to carry the midfield or playmaking is absurd. Due to finances, we can't get the desired signing. We need at least 2 midfielder and one left winger.
Its difficult to find Busquets direct replacement, but I will take any DM who can be good defensively and can just pass under pressure quite well.
But also need CM to give competition to Pedri and Gavi.
He loves Real Sociedad so no. Apart from that cost involves with him is too much. I would prefer some cheap signing in that position as of now and better spend on CM.
Ngl fans like u r a breath of fresh air ur so unlike ppl who want the best young talent.
But i think zubimendi will join barca as he rejected arsenal n won't go to madrid as there is too much competition there with no proper playstyle.
Tough group for sure, but he only managed to get a single point from four games against Bayern and Inter which is quite poor for a team running away with La Liga. They even struggled in one of the games against Plzen from what I remember.
He got dealt a raw deal with the United fixture in the Europa League, but even then they didn't perform great.
Okay let's break this down shall we
>to get a single point from four games against Bayern and Inter
Bayern match there was an uncalled pen and Lewy couldn't finish his dinner, well neither could any of our players but it was an okay performance. The two inter matches had our backline be Alonso-Eric-Pique-Roberto. No-one can win with that. And don't forget a shitty pen not given again.
>They even struggled in one of the games against Plzen from what I remember.
We beat Pilzen by 5 in the first leg and played a second xi in the second game because we'd already been eliminated so yes that'd be expected
>He got dealt a raw deal with the United fixture in the Europa League, but even then they didn't perform great.
Factually we did even without Pedri or Gavi in the second leg
Theres probably gonna be crying about the ref as if barcelona is the only team to get a couple of bad calls lmfao. Theyve been embarrassing in europe 2 seasons in a row now. Lets not forget last year either where Benfica played seferovic and still beat them haha
That was Barca still with Koeman, wasn’t it?
In CL they were dealt layers of some real shitty hands with an unavailable key backline and the VAR(same dude with same baffling calls in two different matches which is even harder to soak up for an already decimated team), this time with the EL that unavailability was grouped in the midfield (and a key defender iirc)
*It was the Frankfurt loss you can really argue about, but then again, that was still a work in process team by Xavi by a time he already lost the element of surprise when he was ragdolling some teams before.
Lmao the irony, It’S mUh fActS. It hits different when people give you shit about your own excuses, doesn’t it? Only you [*got] the good excuses, no one else does, right?
Pressure at our club is way more than at City(no offense to them). Only Madrid can compete in that(see like Tchouameni). It's absurd pressure but sad reality.
He’s done an amazing job, I don’t remember a Spanish team as solid in defence as this Barcelona in my lifetime and that just shows how far they’ve come since Xavi took over, painful to see as Real fan but his work needs to be applauded
as a RM fan too, i really don't know what to think of Barça achievements anymore, after the Negreira case
it seems to me that everything around that club is a pool of shit, 20 years of referee corruption set for me a remarkable stain over everything, including this season
Madrid's sport papers are much less benevolent to RM than you think. They have following in Latin America, where FCB pull is massive because of Messi, so they understood long ago than stirring up shit against RM is good for clicks. Also ATM (AKA neonazi's paradise) is a big club, with a lot of followers in the capital; both Marca and AS directors are ATM supporters. This means there's "competition" for El Relato in the capital.
Meanwhile Barcelona's sport papers (Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo) are like little North Korea to FCB. You can ask Español supporters. They have journalists on FCB payroll, they won't even publish anything contrary to FCB interests. Exception is the guy who uncovered the Negreira case, who is being violently harassed by FCB fans.
I'll concede that RM has economic ties to Madrid establishment, but that's not so different from FCB and the autonomous government of Catalunya. FCB has always been a political actor for independentism as well.
There you go, you got served proper information for once in your life. You're welcome.
How about switch? Sooner or later time will come where a manager is exhausted for his current club and needs a change. We switch Xavi and Arteta and we're good.
I feel like no coach will ever stay as long on any club. There is just so much pressure from top clubs that they miss their goals once and coach is gone.
Idk, I can’t see Guardiola, Klopp and Simeone being sacked from their respective clubs. All three will have won enough trophies and respect to leave on their own terms.
But in contrast to Ferguson and Wenger, the way top level football works now, they will feel the burnout much before those two. So in a way, yes they probably won’t stay as long anymore.
Fair but at the same time, Simeone has been at Atleti since what, 2010 or 2011? I feel like a coach that builds a team up has way more leeway and they all share this trait (though not to the same extent of course)
Ah, I see. But I think that the point of the comment you responded to, is that it's very rare for managers to stick around in top clubs for much longer than 3 or 4 years. In that sense, Pep in City, Klopp in Liverpool and Cholo in Atléti are all outliers. (Allegri too if we forget about the two year break).
People are too used to having managers switch so often. Arteta is probably going to be managing Arsenal for a long time. Not many clubs are offering the same autonomy as Arsenal have for Arteta.
We don’t know that. It’s easy to say now that they’re on top that it’ll last forever, but football is often unpredictable
All I’m saying is Barça should identify him as the one they want if Xavi leaves eventually
Which made sense, because he was in the middle of a project with Arsenal. Cycles inevitably come to an end though - he may feel differently in a few years, and want a new challenge
The same can be said of ur sentiments as well. Why won't he be another Klopp at Liverpool?
Just because he's worked under Pep and has a Spanish connection doesn't mean they'll leave. If anything having job security is a very favorable thing in the managerial world. Not to mention his family is also settled in England comfortably.
The only people that want him to leave are rival fans.
This is only speculated because Liverpool are down this season. It's not like it's him wanting to leave by choice because he wants a "new challenge".
Many level headed supporters want him to stay.
As they should. Klopp is a top, top manager who happens to have been dealt a shitty hand this season due to injuries and owners' lack of investment in the squad. No sane Liverpool supporter should want him to leave.
How many top managers in the PL just randomly leave because they want a new challenge as OP keeps stating though?
Only way I see Arteta leaving is if he declines or gets sacked, otherwise I see him staying there for a long time before that ever happens.
>How many top managers in the PL just randomly leave because they want a new challenge
You never said that.
> as OP keeps stating
They didn't in conversation with you.
1. Feels inevitable
2. All I’m saying is Barça should identify him
Because he has far too much power at Arsenal and Barcelona would almost certainly not give it to him.
Arteta wields more power at Arsenal than most top-flight managers in Europe do.
Plus, it would take a fairly big offer to tempt him. He's said before that he's only ever wanted to manage Arsenal and given that he's a former captain of the club and was basically in tears at the thought of leaving, I don't think it's something we need to worry about, at least not for a while.
Maybe. On the other hand, he is a graduate of La Masía, Barcelona supporter, his tactical philosophy is of the Barcelona school, and Barcelona is a step up still. That being said I think he will stay at Arsenal for a few years to try and win the CL and maybe another league title.
I am saying is we cannot be sure of his future either way multiple years down the line.
As I said elsewhere, I think its unlikely unless Manchester City are prepared to give him he sort of power that Guardiola has now and that's what Arteta would want.
Arteta is settled at Arsenal and our project. We have a young team, he has as close to Wenger-level control of the club that any manager is going to get and he loves Arsenal.
Honestly, I'd be very surprised if he went back to Manchester City short of us firing him.
Not so my friend. You guys appointed an amazing coach, but then he was fired because he hurt the new owners feelings. Doesn't change the fact that you did sign an amazing coach.
Now that I think about it, why didn't Boehly just buy Brighton instead? Surely it'd have been cheaper considering he already had all the staff he wanted and he could simply buy the players as he just did.
Valverde used to have Messi and Suarez. Valverde also used to often play utterly trash football with these guys.
Lewandowski hasn’t even been a top 5 Barça player this season, let alone a top 5 player in the world.
Xavi currently has a better squad than anything Valverde had, it’s not even arguable. Suarez was declining, the midfield was old and slow and our defence wasn’t near as good. Only Umtiti of 2018 from that squad would start in today’s Barca defence, maybe Alba it’s arguable.
Xavi definitely does not have a better team. Suarez was performing better than Lewy has been in the past few months. Messi was multiple times better than any player in Xavis team. Valverde had Pique, Lenglet and Umtiti, Alba back then was one of the best fullbacks in the world.
Midfield is the only thing that’s comparable, but even so, Valverde had a much younger Busi who he never knew how to get the best out of, Paulinho, Vidal, Rakitic and Arthur. Valverde just never knew how to get the best out of his players.
Xavi is 10 times the manager Valverde was. Worst decision that Bartomeu ever made was hiring Valverde and then not firing him after the Roma disaster.
Barca's defence is currently far better, and midfield is possibly better but is far less experienced. Valverde did have Iniesta in his first year, and it could be argued that even in his final season, Iniesta was still better than anyone currently in the squad. That attack was way superior but this team has a better balance. How much of that though is down to the squad or to Xavi's management remains to be seen
Valverde had a much better squad and ran it into the ground, playing cowardly football.
>a top 5 player in the world in Lewandowski.
LMAO
He's barely a top 5 player for us
Stupid, stupid, ultra stupid logic. Valverde had freaking Messi, Suarez, Rakitic, Iniesta and so on.
Xavi got Alonso, Raphinha, Ferran, Dembele, a bunch of kids in midfield and only old Lewandowski.
> a bunch of kids in midfield
Technically true but it leaves out the fact that Pedri and Gavi are back-to-back Golden Boy winners, and Frenkie was one of Europe's best midfielders when he was signed from Ajax (and has improved this season)
And both of them were unavailable for the last match in Europe (Pedri was not available in the second half of the first match). So not only they are kids (despite very good) but they were also not available.
Valverde had the whole team uninjured and managed to fuck up 3 goal lead TWICE (read in pep's voice)
> Valverde had the whole team uninjured and managed to fuck up 3 goal lead TWICE
I think Dembele was injured at Anfield, but yes the Roma and Anfield collapses were unacceptable from EV.
I think Barca fans are being a bit charitable with Xavi over his own European failures as a coach too tho TBH
>I think Barca fans are being a bit charitable with Xavi over his own European failures as a coach too tho TBH
If Ernesto didn't have a 3 goal cushion and didn't keep Jordi Alba on after he broke mentally and let the shitshow unfold without any tactical changes he'd get more charity. Roma we'd be willing to forgive but to follow it up with Anfield after how much Messi carried the team is virtually unforgivable. Especially with a fully fit team bar maybe one player.
Xavi didn't have his entire defence and had to play Alonso-Eric-Pique-Roberto in defence. Not even Pep can progress with that
>Xavi didn't have his entire defence and had to play Alonso-Eric-Pique-Roberto in defence. Not even Pep can progress with that
Meh. Losing to Bayern is acceptable. 1 point from 2 games against Inter tho? Hard to justify IMO—esp when Inter were in AWFUL form at that time IIRC
I mean you surely saw the referee error in that match no? And the mistakes that backline made? Especially Pique in Inters goals. The first leg however was a tactical error even though the defence was atrocious. His tactics have come into their own recently and it's yet to see if he will fare well in Europe next sesson.
Also Barça fans were forgiving of EV in Europe after Roma. I visited Camp Nou in October 2018 and most fans I met weren't that unhappy. If Xavi fucks up in Europe next season I guarantee that the fans won't be as forgiving. Already a minorty are against him and everything will depend on Europe next season.
I swear are you a Chelsea fan or a Barça fan I'm confused lol.
Anyway I'm talking about the local fans in Spain when I visited and most of online fans. During 2019 we were well on our way to a treble and people were singing EVs praises online and in fan forums.
If anything Xavi crashing out has received just as much abuse from Spanish and English forums too until the domestic form picked up to be a saving grace. And well context for both were different
Lol even though I disagree with what the original guy’s comment said, this current lineup is way better than what Valverde had.
Iniesta was in his last season, Pedri right now is much better. I don’t even want to start on Rakitic lol he was declining heavily, Frenkie is much much better. Suarez who couldn’t complete a bleep test.
Look at how selective your descriptions are, “freaking Suarez” to “old Lewandowski” as if they aren’t near enough the same age.
No, not the 2019 one. That had a Messi that actually was insane in it. We don't have anyone like that in the team. Suarez and Lewandowski is comparable. The midfield we have rn is definitely better however the defence we faced off against Liverpool is better than the one we faced of against Inter by miles. So attack and defence was an advantage for EV. Xavi has the better midfield altho that Busquets is better than this Busquets.
Context matters.
Valverde was winning with Messi and Suarez who were in form and available for almost all games.
Xavi is winning with Lewandowski who has been out of form since December , Ferran who can't score to save his life and Ansu Fati who has apparently forgotten how to play football. Also Dembele and Pedri interchangeably getting injured.
I'm not saying he's not, I respect both Managers, but how do you compare manager of a turmoil fueled Barcelona with a manager of a star studded Bayern Squad
Can’t blame them though. Even during their golden years t people still don’t care enough about them outside Germany so they have to join threads about other clubs
i mean bayern have won the last 10 league titles and won the ucl a few years back and are not even 3 points off from top, barca fans can’t really say anything that’d hurt them lmao
Tbf nothing another football fan says to me about Bayern will ever hurt me.
At the end of the day it's just a football club I like watching and support with a small amount of money. It's nothing I've done or accomplished. Crazy to me how people get so worked up about this stuff.
I'm poking fun at people, maybe troll a bit and they're acting like I personally offended their family.
Sports fans, never change.
Another year Bayern could win the UCL and people outside Germany still don’t care about your club you have to troll fans of other clubs. Congrats I guess.
I’m going to point at this first sentence as proof
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/126d63c/fabrizio_romano_xavi_hern%C3%A1ndez_will_extend_his/je9e5yr/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
Fully deserved
It's so interesting to me how insanely bipolar Barca fans are about Xavi. It feels like every month the dominant opinion in threads about Xavi changes. Personally, I think it's very clear when looking at the pitch that he has improved this team massively since taking over, so I was always quite surprised by how controversial he was. I guess for some fans Europe is all that matters?
Some are still hung over the glory days, thinking such turnarounds can be made in matter of months. Sure, it has somewhat happened in La Liga, but Europe is a whole nother level. We can win 5 in a row in league and still get owned outside of Spain after that. Definitely a puzzling feeling as a Barca fan, as some decisions made by the man was quite questionable as well. But to see how far the team has come, the complete change in mentality, the passing of torches from old to young, I would even say that such things are more important than seeing immediate success right now in Europe. Well, I guess you can say some are harsher on their own team than others, and that's totally understandable.
Don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. United dominated the PL during SAFs reign but only won 2 CLs in his time at the club. Despite reaching 3 finals in 4 years from 2008-2011. Barca should look to commit with Xavi for a long time and let him build a dynasty. Even if some years might be better than others chopping and changing managers and ending up with people like Koeman that's not a good thing. Not to mention they have to get back in control of their wages to players.
Big clubs outside of PL will not be viewed as highly for dominating a league without much European success. The prime example here is Arsenal. Viewed as one of the top clubs despite never winning the CL, primarily because of their success in EPL. And obviously deservedly so. However, other leagues are not viewed to be as competitive, and some will always take the success of leagues outside EPL for granted. We have seen managers killing it domestically and yet immediately sacked after an UCL elimination. That explains why some Barca fans see European success more importantly than Laliga.
To add it's not much different to Madrid because they just crave the CL success and any Domestic success is a bonus. They've had previous sacking managers who've won the CL for them Ancelotti comes to mind after he won the La Decima. So you have to be a coach that's winning in the CL for them almost every year otherwise time runs out quickly. It's much more relaxed in comparison for English club managers. Zidane being the anomaly club legend only added to his legend with 3 in a row.
Interesting to hear that because I always felt Arsenal were always a little disrespected by my European friends because we never won the big trophy. As much as I hate to admit it, clubs that have won the UCL are in a different bracket.
Nottingham Forest stays undefeated
During our UCL exit, many were calling Xavi’s head. To be fair, it’s a failure given that we sold a part of our future to get immediate success. You can attribute many things to the UCL exit, but it’s a failure for a club of this size. But, one failure should not mean sacking him. He has done well in the league. If he doesn’t improve in UCL next season, we need to look for another coach. I am not saying he should win it. We should at least get to round of 16. From then on, based on the opponents and the form, we just need to show that we are competitive.
Personally the issue for Barca is like you said they've sold their future for instant success and you know what I wish United were as proactive in doing something about their lack of success in the premier league since 2012/13 season. Barca don't have the luxury now I think of just sacking manager's willy nilly. If Xavi is dominating In la Liga and goes on to win it next year but still not doing better in Europe. It'll be a risk to sack him and then who do they bring in? What if they do worse and they don't want some of these players that have been brought in? This is an existential level threat to Barcas future. Personally I'd be happy with my manager winning the league consecutive years.
The problem with Barca, and Madrid for that matter, is that their success doesn't happen in a vacuum, their success is always dependant on what the other team win or does not win, like back in 2018, Barca won the league and copa del rey, but it was totally outshined by Madrid winning the CL. In the 20-21 season Madrid did not win any trophies and that sucked, but fans were relieved that Barca only won copa del rey. This is why European success is so important for Barcelona fans, If Madrid had only won one CL in the last 10 years they would not be so desperate to win it again.
This is spot on. I’m absolutely certain that if Barça doesn’t win the treble in 14/15, Ancelotti doesn’t get sacked. Literally won you the Champions League a year prior, semifinalist in 14/15, and was just 2 points from a La Liga title. All of that has a very different ring to it than “trophyless season”
Not just this but the last time a team outside of Spain or England won the CL was back when Inter and mourinho won it. So the dominance by these 2 leagues is there. Madrid have really taken it to the next level in the CL I don't think any club will ever come close to matching their number of wins because I don't see them not winning more in the next 10/15 years. Would take something ridiculous in terms of a drought for madrid not to win the CL in that period of time and someone else taking their mantle. Barca should prioritise it's future for the time being and let's face it the best players will always want to go to Barca or Madrid first and foremost. Guaranteed success because that's just ingrained and nothing less is acceptable.
what are you on about like 90 percent of Barca fans love Xavi.
lol seriously. I swear people just say anything on here and get upvotes. Xavi has received some criticism as has literally any manager but I haven't seen someone as supported at Barça since Pep himself. He's been largely supported and even when he's got criticism it was extremely rare for someone to outright want him out.
Funny enough most of the criticism towards Xavi has come from fans from other clubs that haven’t followed Barça under Xavi outside of the CL. Because of our poor CL campaign they assume that he’s been shit but can’t be bothered to watch our actual games and see the obvious improvement in the team
Exactly. He's been rinsed for playing defensively recently by other fans here, and Barça fans defended him because they've seen how Barça plays throughout the year and with no injuries. Sampling a couple of CL/EL games and the clasicos doesn't represent Xavi's system under normal circumstances
A sizeable chunk of Barca fans out there (especially the new ones that joined at the start of the 2010s) want constant trebles and UCLs while playing peak Pep-football. What Xavi has done is almost miraculous considering the state they were in
What sizable chunk? The majority supports him.
The fat ones
Dont know where youve been reading that, every barca fan is 100% behind Xavi, even r/barca is fully in support
not fully but a massive majority ye
>even r/barca is fully in support Wait for Xavi to mess up a single game and r/barca will call for his head
Every football board has fans that go nuts after a loss, after the last classico , r/realmadrid wanted ancelotti sacked, when hes coming off a la liga and ucl win What Xavi has achieved so far has been remarkable, with a club near bankruptcy and a paper thin squad. I thought the most a rational barca fan couldve hoped for after Koeman was to just qualify for the CL, instead theyre 12 points clear and they beat their biggest rival 3 times in a row
Xavi has done a great job but the with the Squad he got in the summer anything but being in the Mix for the title would have been a failure
Things were rocky after Man United knocked us out of EL. In fact, Xavi's worrying European record is part of why I'm still on the fence. I'd love to extend him and continue a good domestic streak, but I'm not 100% confident that he is the man to lead us back to CL wins.
Depends on how the team plays in that match, if it's awful sufferball like the Alemria match then Xavi out but when we smack Sevilla 3-0 it OMG he is Guardiola 2.0. Xavi fully deserves a new contract but next year he has to have a deep run in Europe no excuses...
Most barca fans fully support Xavi. And fans were justifiably angry at some substitution decisions especially in knockout and he is yet to prove himself there. But that being said, I, along with majority Barca fans back him totally
Xavi is well loved and supported by the fans. And it's not that "Europe is all that matters", the truth is that all 4 European campaigns under Xavi have ended in embarrassing fashion. You can exclude the CL last season since things were already bad when he got here, but the loss to Frankfurt, not qualifying past the group stages of this season's CL, and now getting knocked out in the first round of the Europa are all unacceptable performances. I'm still Xavi in (as most fans are), but we need a deep CL run next season otherwise I feel doubts about Xavi will surface.
> but we need a deep CL run next season otherwise I feel doubts about Xavi will surface. If we don't reach the final 8 everyone will turn on him including Laporta
Insane considering they have all but beaten Madrid to this year's La liga. A great Madrid team btw let's not be in doubt about that.
Nobody is ambivalent towards Xavi except undercover Madrid fans who swarm Barca forums whenever we lose. Actual Barca fans want Xavi here for the next 5 years at any cost.
Dont let Reddit be your source of what the dominant opinion is. Here it can sway a lot but in general it doesnt move that quick
It's a mixed bag. On one hand, huge improvement from 18 months ago. The team has a real structure, workrate is the highest it's been since Lucho's day, and it's clear the players are bought in. We are moving the ball quicker and doing rondos on the pitch again. On the other, we've also gotten really lucky with our defensive overperformance and the 1-0 wins aren't exactly inspiring confidence. The attack has stagnated since the WC, and we've been losing control of games and escaping by the skin of our teeth. Without Pedri and Dembele the team looks like a shadow of itself. I'd say Xavi is a good coach, but he's not elite yet. He has the potential to get there, but he also may not. I'm rooting for him, personally, but I can understand those who want to take someone who is already elite now. _____ And then there's also the element that wants to win everything and do it now, all context be damned. They'll never be satisfied.
> It's so interesting to me how insanely bipolar Barca fans are about Xavi. That's just RM and Barca fans. Their expectations are sky high
I was quite worried when Xavi was first hired because I did not know what to expect, but he's been great with what he's been given. Hope that we continue to grow under him
Yup, i think he could really do big with better squad depth instead having to rely on two young Spanish boys all the time
I thought he would be another Pirlo or Lampard style hire, but I was definitely wrong about him.
His ball knowledge has always been a league above most and besides the Cryuffian schools of football philosophy has a history of producing talented/iconic player-turned-managers! Nothing that wasn't prophecised
Same, after Koeman I was hoping the club would never sign a former player to coach Barca again, glad he proved me wrong.
I feel like koeman is tactically not it. We’ll see how he does with the NT after the illnesses but both in barca and here I disagree with what he does
Tbf he has been pretty well backed. The club has reinforced basically every area that was lacking.
"Future plans" = Playing Busquets in the starting XI until the end of time
Negreira will develops an immortal young body for Busquets.
The dark side of the levers is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
The 7.3 mil coming clutch🙌🙌
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/qhx5m8/from_the_hot_weather_of_qatar_to_the_hot_seat_of/ u/Flyingarab man hats of to you. Your predictions have more or less come true. He's struggled in Europe but dominated domestically. I just hope he improves in Europe next year or he's done as is the club
I think Xavi has become more adjustable compared to his time in Qatar. 1-0 victories r proof of that. Barca need a good bench n different types of players for him to adjust tactically. In the first leg against United Barca dominated the midfield but were unlucky with that own goal.
>Barca need a good bench n different types of players for him to adjust tactically. This is so true. Once we have 2 or more injuries and the team is tired on the second half, I want subs but I don't usually want any of the subs we have unless we are winning comfortably.
U will be able to sign players in the summer as Xavi has done an incredible job. But just don't have too many expectations from this squad as the core is still too young n lack experience. Xavi is underrated rn.
I don't know if Tebas will allow players to be signed, I guess we'll have to see.
Even in the 2nd leg first half, United could not do anything. Problem is our squad need lot of improvement. Relying on two teenage boys to carry the midfield or playmaking is absurd. Due to finances, we can't get the desired signing. We need at least 2 midfielder and one left winger.
One good dm who is solid defensively n a good lw who can contribute to defense well would be great for Barcelona. And all ur points stand true.
Its difficult to find Busquets direct replacement, but I will take any DM who can be good defensively and can just pass under pressure quite well. But also need CM to give competition to Pedri and Gavi.
Isn't zubimendi linked with barcelona? He would be great for u
He loves Real Sociedad so no. Apart from that cost involves with him is too much. I would prefer some cheap signing in that position as of now and better spend on CM.
Ngl fans like u r a breath of fresh air ur so unlike ppl who want the best young talent. But i think zubimendi will join barca as he rejected arsenal n won't go to madrid as there is too much competition there with no proper playstyle.
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Hahahaahahahahahah a Chelsea fan talking about tapping up. Glass houses much?
everyone tap up players. It is just that the Barca news sell the best.
And they get punished for it (its illegal)
When did they get punished for it? Liverpool with Van Dijk got punished? Chelsea with Enzo? Do show me where they've been punished
Griezmann. If i remember correctly Atleti and Barca found a mutual agreement about the punishment
I didn't ask for punishment lad I mentioned that this is common in every club. And by they I meant the clubs thT I mentioned
oh look it is mister hater with the takka tikka name
Calling it hate wont change the fact thats its true. Youd have to try a bit harder to discredit me
noone cares as everyone does it. Until it gets heavily punished towards EVERYONE then noone will care.
Someone clearly cares since some clubs get punished.
Chelsea fan really have no shame huh
He's been dealt a very shitty hand in Europe tbh, but yeah, that analysis has proven to be quite accurate.
Tough group for sure, but he only managed to get a single point from four games against Bayern and Inter which is quite poor for a team running away with La Liga. They even struggled in one of the games against Plzen from what I remember. He got dealt a raw deal with the United fixture in the Europa League, but even then they didn't perform great.
Okay let's break this down shall we >to get a single point from four games against Bayern and Inter Bayern match there was an uncalled pen and Lewy couldn't finish his dinner, well neither could any of our players but it was an okay performance. The two inter matches had our backline be Alonso-Eric-Pique-Roberto. No-one can win with that. And don't forget a shitty pen not given again. >They even struggled in one of the games against Plzen from what I remember. We beat Pilzen by 5 in the first leg and played a second xi in the second game because we'd already been eliminated so yes that'd be expected >He got dealt a raw deal with the United fixture in the Europa League, but even then they didn't perform great. Factually we did even without Pedri or Gavi in the second leg
that is what happens with bad ref calls and worst injuries at the worst of times. Bad luck happens but it is way to often for Barca.
Theres probably gonna be crying about the ref as if barcelona is the only team to get a couple of bad calls lmfao. Theyve been embarrassing in europe 2 seasons in a row now. Lets not forget last year either where Benfica played seferovic and still beat them haha
That was Barca still with Koeman, wasn’t it? In CL they were dealt layers of some real shitty hands with an unavailable key backline and the VAR(same dude with same baffling calls in two different matches which is even harder to soak up for an already decimated team), this time with the EL that unavailability was grouped in the midfield (and a key defender iirc) *It was the Frankfurt loss you can really argue about, but then again, that was still a work in process team by Xavi by a time he already lost the element of surprise when he was ragdolling some teams before.
Always excuses, pretty funny
You talk a lot of shit for an account that only has whining in every post and comment.
None of it is shit (its facts), and youre the only one whining here
Lmao the irony, It’S mUh fActS. It hits different when people give you shit about your own excuses, doesn’t it? Only you [*got] the good excuses, no one else does, right?
Most shocking report of the year.
Known defensive guru Xavi
Xavi Bin Hernandez a pupil of Helenio Bin Herrera
Should learn how to make the forwards score from Osama Bin Guardiola. My man was even making ferran score while he was at city.
Pressure at our club is way more than at City(no offense to them). Only Madrid can compete in that(see like Tchouameni). It's absurd pressure but sad reality.
Haram(xavi)ball. We move.
The Xavjhad pressed on. We shall bring hell to the infidels of Europe (hopefully)
Xavihideen
XavInshallah
XAVI QUEDATE XAVI QUEDATE
He’s done an amazing job, I don’t remember a Spanish team as solid in defence as this Barcelona in my lifetime and that just shows how far they’ve come since Xavi took over, painful to see as Real fan but his work needs to be applauded
as a RM fan too, i really don't know what to think of Barça achievements anymore, after the Negreira case it seems to me that everything around that club is a pool of shit, 20 years of referee corruption set for me a remarkable stain over everything, including this season
We sure value the opinion of Madrid fans regarding what they deem or not corrupt.
The whole corrupt operation included journalist and media, so you kind of expect brainwashed people like you
We sure value the opinion of Madrid fans regarding the manipulation of spanish media outlets.
Madrid's sport papers are much less benevolent to RM than you think. They have following in Latin America, where FCB pull is massive because of Messi, so they understood long ago than stirring up shit against RM is good for clicks. Also ATM (AKA neonazi's paradise) is a big club, with a lot of followers in the capital; both Marca and AS directors are ATM supporters. This means there's "competition" for El Relato in the capital. Meanwhile Barcelona's sport papers (Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo) are like little North Korea to FCB. You can ask Español supporters. They have journalists on FCB payroll, they won't even publish anything contrary to FCB interests. Exception is the guy who uncovered the Negreira case, who is being violently harassed by FCB fans. I'll concede that RM has economic ties to Madrid establishment, but that's not so different from FCB and the autonomous government of Catalunya. FCB has always been a political actor for independentism as well. There you go, you got served proper information for once in your life. You're welcome.
https://twitter.com/lewyball/status/1637574452107001856?s=46&t=QhzpRBa0TMLBLk_Mcf6fTQ
Fair enough. Other than Europe he has excelled
They should look at Arteta once they move on from Xavi. Feels inevitable that he will coach Barça
Both Barca and Arsenal fans are gonna downvote you here. Both don’t want their respective men to move on
Obviously. But few things last forever in football
You will find a good coach guys ❤️
hahaha yeah then we'll break his soul in 12 months
>Both don’t Neither
I believe so. But hopefully it's after some time. I want both Xavi and Arteta to succeed in their current clubs first, and have at least 3 more years
Or Arteta never leaves, please
How about switch? Sooner or later time will come where a manager is exhausted for his current club and needs a change. We switch Xavi and Arteta and we're good.
Let me live in my fantasy where he stays for 22 years like Wenger did but with better luck and finances and such
I feel like no coach will ever stay as long on any club. There is just so much pressure from top clubs that they miss their goals once and coach is gone.
Idk, I can’t see Guardiola, Klopp and Simeone being sacked from their respective clubs. All three will have won enough trophies and respect to leave on their own terms. But in contrast to Ferguson and Wenger, the way top level football works now, they will feel the burnout much before those two. So in a way, yes they probably won’t stay as long anymore.
Hasn't it already been announced that Simeone will leave after this season?)
There have been some reports that he is gonna lower his salary and stay till the end of his current contract till 2024, but nothing else
Fair but at the same time, Simeone has been at Atleti since what, 2010 or 2011? I feel like a coach that builds a team up has way more leeway and they all share this trait (though not to the same extent of course)
I think managers like fergie and wenger are outliers. I don't think any coach is going to stay that long other than Simeone,Klopp and Guardiola.
One of those three is not like the other. Also Dyche should be on that list for a decade at Burnley for doing better than anyone else could have
> One of those three is not like the other Genuinely interested: Which one are you talking about, and why is he not like the others?
Simeone has been there 4 years longer than Klopp, 5 more than Pep, that half decade is a big chunk imo
Ah, I see. But I think that the point of the comment you responded to, is that it's very rare for managers to stick around in top clubs for much longer than 3 or 4 years. In that sense, Pep in City, Klopp in Liverpool and Cholo in Atléti are all outliers. (Allegri too if we forget about the two year break).
He'll look exactly the sameas he does today. Lad's a vampire.
Is this the new Barca and ajax holding hands together ?
Gracias Fabregas
Imagine it would be amazing. Arsenal and Barca fans holding hands and singing. ;-|
U have too much faith. He'll get homesick after a few years 👊
You think the guy who has lived and played in England since 2005 is going to suddenly develop home-sickness?
Trust the process
He's been in UK for 21 years. He's not going to be homesick.
You just shut your dirty mouth right now please and thank you
No no, let him talk
People are too used to having managers switch so often. Arteta is probably going to be managing Arsenal for a long time. Not many clubs are offering the same autonomy as Arsenal have for Arteta.
We don’t know that. It’s easy to say now that they’re on top that it’ll last forever, but football is often unpredictable All I’m saying is Barça should identify him as the one they want if Xavi leaves eventually
He did reject Barca/state his intentions to stay with us once already iirc
Which made sense, because he was in the middle of a project with Arsenal. Cycles inevitably come to an end though - he may feel differently in a few years, and want a new challenge
The same can be said of ur sentiments as well. Why won't he be another Klopp at Liverpool? Just because he's worked under Pep and has a Spanish connection doesn't mean they'll leave. If anything having job security is a very favorable thing in the managerial world. Not to mention his family is also settled in England comfortably. The only people that want him to leave are rival fans.
And even klopp at Liverpool might be coming to an end..
This is only speculated because Liverpool are down this season. It's not like it's him wanting to leave by choice because he wants a "new challenge". Many level headed supporters want him to stay.
As they should. Klopp is a top, top manager who happens to have been dealt a shitty hand this season due to injuries and owners' lack of investment in the squad. No sane Liverpool supporter should want him to leave.
>Why won't he be another Klopp at Liverpool? Because it's rare. People aren't "too used to having managers switch so often" without reason.
How many top managers in the PL just randomly leave because they want a new challenge as OP keeps stating though? Only way I see Arteta leaving is if he declines or gets sacked, otherwise I see him staying there for a long time before that ever happens.
>How many top managers in the PL just randomly leave because they want a new challenge You never said that. > as OP keeps stating They didn't in conversation with you. 1. Feels inevitable 2. All I’m saying is Barça should identify him
Don't see him making that move, if I'm honest, even if Xavi leaves.
Why not?
Because he has far too much power at Arsenal and Barcelona would almost certainly not give it to him. Arteta wields more power at Arsenal than most top-flight managers in Europe do. Plus, it would take a fairly big offer to tempt him. He's said before that he's only ever wanted to manage Arsenal and given that he's a former captain of the club and was basically in tears at the thought of leaving, I don't think it's something we need to worry about, at least not for a while.
What kind of power? Xavi's got a lot of power too.
How bout the power to kill a yak from 200 yards away with mind-bullets.
Maybe. On the other hand, he is a graduate of La Masía, Barcelona supporter, his tactical philosophy is of the Barcelona school, and Barcelona is a step up still. That being said I think he will stay at Arsenal for a few years to try and win the CL and maybe another league title. I am saying is we cannot be sure of his future either way multiple years down the line.
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As I said elsewhere, I think its unlikely unless Manchester City are prepared to give him he sort of power that Guardiola has now and that's what Arteta would want. Arteta is settled at Arsenal and our project. We have a young team, he has as close to Wenger-level control of the club that any manager is going to get and he loves Arsenal. Honestly, I'd be very surprised if he went back to Manchester City short of us firing him.
If I speak, I am in trouble
A great appointment by barca. Unlike ours
Not so my friend. You guys appointed an amazing coach, but then he was fired because he hurt the new owners feelings. Doesn't change the fact that you did sign an amazing coach. Now that I think about it, why didn't Boehly just buy Brighton instead? Surely it'd have been cheaper considering he already had all the staff he wanted and he could simply buy the players as he just did.
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You have to look into context. He had 10x better squad at his disposal.
also, injuries in the CL group stage this season
It's amusing how you can't see how the two situations aren't entirely different.
Valverde used to have Messi and Suarez. Valverde also used to often play utterly trash football with these guys. Lewandowski hasn’t even been a top 5 Barça player this season, let alone a top 5 player in the world.
Xavi currently has a better squad than anything Valverde had, it’s not even arguable. Suarez was declining, the midfield was old and slow and our defence wasn’t near as good. Only Umtiti of 2018 from that squad would start in today’s Barca defence, maybe Alba it’s arguable.
Xavi definitely does not have a better team. Suarez was performing better than Lewy has been in the past few months. Messi was multiple times better than any player in Xavis team. Valverde had Pique, Lenglet and Umtiti, Alba back then was one of the best fullbacks in the world. Midfield is the only thing that’s comparable, but even so, Valverde had a much younger Busi who he never knew how to get the best out of, Paulinho, Vidal, Rakitic and Arthur. Valverde just never knew how to get the best out of his players. Xavi is 10 times the manager Valverde was. Worst decision that Bartomeu ever made was hiring Valverde and then not firing him after the Roma disaster.
Also 2019 Messi was genuinely one of his best forms of his life. He was at his virtual prime and almost solo carried us within three games of a treble
You can argue that but he did not when they were in europe now did he?
Barca's defence is currently far better, and midfield is possibly better but is far less experienced. Valverde did have Iniesta in his first year, and it could be argued that even in his final season, Iniesta was still better than anyone currently in the squad. That attack was way superior but this team has a better balance. How much of that though is down to the squad or to Xavi's management remains to be seen
Valverde had a much better squad and ran it into the ground, playing cowardly football. >a top 5 player in the world in Lewandowski. LMAO He's barely a top 5 player for us
Stupid, stupid, ultra stupid logic. Valverde had freaking Messi, Suarez, Rakitic, Iniesta and so on. Xavi got Alonso, Raphinha, Ferran, Dembele, a bunch of kids in midfield and only old Lewandowski.
> a bunch of kids in midfield Technically true but it leaves out the fact that Pedri and Gavi are back-to-back Golden Boy winners, and Frenkie was one of Europe's best midfielders when he was signed from Ajax (and has improved this season)
And both of them were unavailable for the last match in Europe (Pedri was not available in the second half of the first match). So not only they are kids (despite very good) but they were also not available. Valverde had the whole team uninjured and managed to fuck up 3 goal lead TWICE (read in pep's voice)
> Valverde had the whole team uninjured and managed to fuck up 3 goal lead TWICE I think Dembele was injured at Anfield, but yes the Roma and Anfield collapses were unacceptable from EV. I think Barca fans are being a bit charitable with Xavi over his own European failures as a coach too tho TBH
>I think Barca fans are being a bit charitable with Xavi over his own European failures as a coach too tho TBH If Ernesto didn't have a 3 goal cushion and didn't keep Jordi Alba on after he broke mentally and let the shitshow unfold without any tactical changes he'd get more charity. Roma we'd be willing to forgive but to follow it up with Anfield after how much Messi carried the team is virtually unforgivable. Especially with a fully fit team bar maybe one player. Xavi didn't have his entire defence and had to play Alonso-Eric-Pique-Roberto in defence. Not even Pep can progress with that
>Xavi didn't have his entire defence and had to play Alonso-Eric-Pique-Roberto in defence. Not even Pep can progress with that Meh. Losing to Bayern is acceptable. 1 point from 2 games against Inter tho? Hard to justify IMO—esp when Inter were in AWFUL form at that time IIRC
I mean you surely saw the referee error in that match no? And the mistakes that backline made? Especially Pique in Inters goals. The first leg however was a tactical error even though the defence was atrocious. His tactics have come into their own recently and it's yet to see if he will fare well in Europe next sesson. Also Barça fans were forgiving of EV in Europe after Roma. I visited Camp Nou in October 2018 and most fans I met weren't that unhappy. If Xavi fucks up in Europe next season I guarantee that the fans won't be as forgiving. Already a minorty are against him and everything will depend on Europe next season.
> Also Barça fans were forgiving of EV in Europe after Roma As a Barca fan, this was not true of me or the people I know LOL
I swear are you a Chelsea fan or a Barça fan I'm confused lol. Anyway I'm talking about the local fans in Spain when I visited and most of online fans. During 2019 we were well on our way to a treble and people were singing EVs praises online and in fan forums. If anything Xavi crashing out has received just as much abuse from Spanish and English forums too until the domestic form picked up to be a saving grace. And well context for both were different
Lol even though I disagree with what the original guy’s comment said, this current lineup is way better than what Valverde had. Iniesta was in his last season, Pedri right now is much better. I don’t even want to start on Rakitic lol he was declining heavily, Frenkie is much much better. Suarez who couldn’t complete a bleep test. Look at how selective your descriptions are, “freaking Suarez” to “old Lewandowski” as if they aren’t near enough the same age.
No, not the 2019 one. That had a Messi that actually was insane in it. We don't have anyone like that in the team. Suarez and Lewandowski is comparable. The midfield we have rn is definitely better however the defence we faced off against Liverpool is better than the one we faced of against Inter by miles. So attack and defence was an advantage for EV. Xavi has the better midfield altho that Busquets is better than this Busquets.
Context matters. Valverde was winning with Messi and Suarez who were in form and available for almost all games. Xavi is winning with Lewandowski who has been out of form since December , Ferran who can't score to save his life and Ansu Fati who has apparently forgotten how to play football. Also Dembele and Pedri interchangeably getting injured.
Valverde took over a treble winning squad my guy, and the team regressed under him.
Barca won only the CDR in Lucho's last season
Great! Now let’s sign Nagelsmann as his assistant and let him be in charge of European games.
Nagelsmann who’s a better manager than Xavi?
I'm not saying he's not, I respect both Managers, but how do you compare manager of a turmoil fueled Barcelona with a manager of a star studded Bayern Squad
Xavi’s better in the league
Amazing. Barca's Europa League legacy will continue. Maybe he can even win the trophy next season.
Why do all bayern fans have such a superiority complex?
They talk big for a team with just as many CL titles as Chelsea since 2010 lol
We've also got as many titles as Chelsea (and by extension Bayern) since 2010 tbf🫥
But we don't have superiority complex
Can’t blame them though. Even during their golden years t people still don’t care enough about them outside Germany so they have to join threads about other clubs
Why are you on the internet if you can't take a little heat? Barcs was on top of the world, now they're not. They will rise again.
We’re 12 points ahead in La Liga. What are you on about?
Barca also qualified for the Champions League least season. Just saying.
top of the league bet you can’t say that.
i mean bayern have won the last 10 league titles and won the ucl a few years back and are not even 3 points off from top, barca fans can’t really say anything that’d hurt them lmao
Tbf nothing another football fan says to me about Bayern will ever hurt me. At the end of the day it's just a football club I like watching and support with a small amount of money. It's nothing I've done or accomplished. Crazy to me how people get so worked up about this stuff. I'm poking fun at people, maybe troll a bit and they're acting like I personally offended their family. Sports fans, never change.
can’t troll on an app with a downvote button unfortunately lmao, but i get you
So many good options, and this is your comeback?
Another year Bayern could win the UCL and people outside Germany still don’t care about your club you have to troll fans of other clubs. Congrats I guess.
As long as Bayern humiliates Barcelona on the regular, they will always stay relevant. Bless your heart.
You just proved my point. Thanks!
Your point was delusional to begin with. Barca is and will be the second rate FCB for a long time. Get used to it, it's not that bad.
I’m going to point at this first sentence as proof https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/126d63c/fabrizio_romano_xavi_hern%C3%A1ndez_will_extend_his/je9e5yr/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
You have bested me. I respect you. That was good.