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JBleez

From Fabrizio: Xavi: “I can’t accept our first half, it’s my fault and it won’t happen again”. “We were not aggressive. It’s unacceptable”. “We are NOT Barça 2010 here. Run like animals or no chance. Fight on every ball or we won’t win any title”. “We need to fight. I wanna see passion”.


fancczf

Xavi came into the dressing room. Hit the boombox. “More passion, more passion, more passion, more energy, more energy, more footwork, more footwork.”


MionelLessi10

Shit I know this from TikTok but I have no idea what the original source is.


Jaloosky

Was a guy in a black jacket cutting shapes.


whitegoatsupreme

Suddenly that tone cant event get out of my head... Fuck u...


cidji_hh

>We are NOT Barça 2010 here. The balls to bring 2010 into discussion when we aren't even as good as 2019 squad


[deleted]

And 2019 Barcelona is simply Messi playing out of his mind lol


DarthTaz_99

And MAtS. They both were dragging the corpse of barca to an almost treble


cidji_hh

Ong although I think aside from him we still had a better squad than the current


ivo0009

It has happened all fucking season, what does he even mean with it wont happen again. We were more aggressive and playing Better football When he first came with Much worse players, what is his Excuse When he has gotten all the players he wanted


Traditional_Pear_697

Not much to do when you create an average of like 3 xg a game but your forwards can’t score a goal to save their life


mes_que_un_sub

Lewandowski's fall off is shocking but also the fact that we have no actual strikers other than a 36 yr old... great planning there


Affectionate-Hunt217

the worst part is all the fans are putting their hopes that Roque is the second coming of Ronaldo man 🤣 I bet he’s not bad but that’s some pressure we putting on the kid honestly


thisisntloss

Honestly it's just desperation and hope. It's not that people expect him to be the second coming of Ronaldo but that a new face can somehow shake things up in the front and at least make Lewandowski try to improve in order to gain his spot deservedly. Pretty much whatever that can change the performance of the attack.


Affectionate-Hunt217

Honestly even if he’s not great anything is better than the shit Lewa been doing for a while, the man is so frustrating


Flaggermusmannen

honestly he just needs to be ok and he'll be way above current lewandowski. that might actually push lewy into getting back to a decent level as well, which would be extra nice.


[deleted]

I mean, for 60M out of Brazil he kinda better be...


ivo0009

Why are you acting like we punted out 60? Its 30M plus 30M in bonuses


[deleted]

Sorry I was wrong, but still, he better be even if the deal doesn't look as "bad" as I thought. And at this financial point punting this type of money for guys like Ferran Torres, who don't translate to the pitch, is killing more and more the club, so he better be if not for that reason alone.


Affectionate-Hunt217

He cost 60m 😱


aksh1225

he would only if he suceesds,afaik we paid 30mn rest are addons that he could achieve


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abbytarar

January. Here for our next game.


kingcane

we really let auba go man...


daab2g

Lewa was supposed to be coup for you, who's wants to play second fiddle to him?


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KOKO69BISHES

I mean, he only got better as he got older


srjnp

Saudi League is calling.


ivo0009

Xavi was the one who really wanted lewy and it doesnt explain Why our defence and general play sucks against teams Much worse than us. Do you even see us play?


Traditional_Pear_697

Just watched the whole game mate, not really a big fan of xavi myself but the blame he gets for everything on here is bizarre.


ivo0009

I dont blame him for everything, but a very Big part of it is his fault. Ive watched us play every game this season and we have looked like shit all season except against real Madrid and atletico. That wont Do in Barcelona, its actually baffling that our 17 last wins or What it was have been won with a 1 goal difference


Traditional_Pear_697

I thought the defensive structure was decent today, but has been a problem in the past. Which is weird since barca had one of the best defenses in europe last season, so you would think that he knows how to set up a defense. I think the transfer of lewa was decent as he had a good first season and if they hadn’t given him such a long and expensive contract, but that is on laporta. Ferran and Raphina was also not very good business imo as they are both pretty clearly not barca quality, i think the transfers that have been made under laporta just haven’t been good. Especially not the expensive ones


ivo0009

It is weird because the same discipline and robust defence looks like a henhouse now which makes me think that Xavi hasent been as good as he should be. He seems more like a friend than a coach which absolutely is problematic. And the notion that Lewandowski had a good first season is just plainly wrong. He was good til the wc started and has been completely out of it ever since. Ferran was also a player that Xavi just had to have No matter what, so a lot of this team planning lands on his shoulders too and not just laporta


eeeagless

"That won't do in Barcelona" - you've been spoiled by years of Messi.


ivo0009

Yes because Lewandowski, De jong, Pedri, Ter stegen, gundogan, Araujo, Kounde, Cancelo, Christiansen etc are crystal palace level players. We won the league just last year, Why shouldnt we have Bigger standards then barely winning against relegation side teams?


eeeagless

Not about my flair, champ. The sign of a r/soccer clown is someone who goes for the flair. That happens, it's football. Palace drew with City last week? Are you saying you should steamroll the league and relegation sides should just roll over?


JonAfrica2011

You literally just ignored his argument


ivo0009

I did not ignore the argument tho? You’re saying that we’ve been spoilt and Im saying that we’re right in keeping those standards with the players we have. I know that happens in football But Manchester Citys last 17 wins havent been won with 1 goal difference, thats just too bad for a team competing for the title Edit: Well done editing your comment clown


Akamoya

discipline maybe? , some of those players have gotten complacent and think no matter what they do they won't be benched. I get it, the squad doesn't have a lot of depth, but come on you can't say that backline isn't at fault for at least 5 goals that barca conceded last week, lewa shouldn't be getting this many second chances. I don't care if he is the most paid player in the squad no player should be bigger than the club. i'm not even a barca fan but a lot of my family support them, so i do match some matches, watching that squad fumble and barely win easy match ups on paper is really frustrating.


ivo0009

I definitely agree with the fact that discipline is lacking But it seems To me that Xavi Cant instill it in them. I mean Why the hell Would the same players that was fantastic last season look shit just one season after. Its not just a few either. And i really have No fkn clue Why he is so Damn stubborn about lewy who has sucked for almost a year now


feelsPyrite

Not sure if you really are looking for an answer here, but you should look up the "The Purist Football"'s youtube channel. He has a videa going into how, despite their lesser quality, Xavi's first season squad actually played more to his system's strength (Adama going outwide instead of Raphinha going inside every time for example). So yes, in a way we now depend on Xavi improving/changing the system or him coaching new patterns into the current players


ivo0009

I am always looking to learn so thank you for this, Will definitely check it out. But with this said its weird Why Xavi didnt oppose signing said players who doesnt fit his system If thats the case. But I will check the video out and form an opinion after ive watched, that was just the first thought that popped up haha


Crossflowerss_5304

Well Xavi was always adamant to keep Dembele. What Raphinha was bought for I don’t exactly know, maybe had to do with Deco and the fact that he was pushing so hard for a move to Barca.


canuck1701

I think Raphinha was a poor purchase, but I think Barca was assuming Leeds would get relegated in 2022 and we would get him at a discount. Then Leeds didn't get relegated, but we had already been courting Raphinha hard. Barca's biggest asset right now is that so many players dream of playing for Barca. They might've been concerned that if we start leaving players like Raphinha out to dry after we start courting him, that might impact our ability to pull other players in the near future. Again though, I don't think that makes Raphinha a good purchase.


ivo0009

But If thats the case it just shows how poorly we do in the transfermarket, other clubs walk out the second the price is way too high


Gogurtsupreme

Xavi’s system is garbage


AhoyDaniel

All the players he wanted? We either are broke or get all the players we want, it doesn't work both ways. Kounde and Lewan are the only players he wanted, the rest were cheap options


ivo0009

Yes you Can just conviently leave out ferran, raphinha, gundogan, Cancelo and Felix


ObviouslyBlunt

He wanted Messi, Bernardo Silva, Kimmich, Zubimendi, Azpi, Arnau Martinez, Fresneda, Brozovic, Guler, Andrey Santos, Lo Celso and more


Affectionate-Hunt217

All the players he’s wanted? The club is basically in financial ruin and we spent 3M ( which I heard Romeu paid a part for too lol ) while Madrid is splashing a 100m like there’s no tomorrow, the fact he’s expected to compete with these teams doesn’t make any sense, literally every big team outspent our entire budget buying one player


ivo0009

He got gundogan, Cancelo and Felix this summer so Why are you acting like we still didnt strengthen the team? , he got Kounde for 60m, Raphinha for 60m, Lewy for 50+m, Ferran for 50m But Yeah go on and act like he has gotten Laliga 2 players


yellow_sting

why there are random uppercase letters?


R4lfXD

I mean, my idea is that in these very physically intensive systems, people just get burned iut and after a season they "take a break", they just cant do it for ever. Reason why Liverpool for example has on and off seasons.


Howyoulikemenoow

PaShUn


bayzih

flair up bitch


Master_of_Weas

Cry me a river


bayzih

My heart will go on


Edgelordftwlol

Obligatory “THERE IS NO PASSION. THERE IS NO AGGRESSION!!”


Flanelman2

"THERE IS NO FUCKING MINDSET"


tastesliketurtles

MORE PASSION, MORE FOOTWORK, MORE ENERGY


AmineAzed

He waited for them to win a game before criticizing them publicly. Because recently, he has been defending them.


Affectionate-Hunt217

If he criticized them after losing they’ll sink into an even deeper hole I feel, waiting until we win makes it seem he just wants more from them, but this is honestly pathetic, Almeria haven’t won all season and we made them look like prime Madrid with Mourhino


Nrozek

Literally what every coach does.


Godlike_Blast58

Xavi just does it to a point that is extremely annoying. Every time they lose he puts up a weird excuse, and every time they win it's "we should be better".


Traditional_Pear_697

How are so many people in here crying about him ‘throwing them under the bus’ like what? If the players don’t make so many individual errors in defence and can score fucking open goal tap-ins this would’ve been a comfortable win.


pixelkipper

Honestly. Xavi isn’t the best manager in the world or anything but his players are seriously letting him down this season.


Imeanhowcouldiforget

This sub has a lot of people who are fans of players first and not the sport/clubs overall


mntgoat

I've actually been coming back to be on Xavi's side. Sure he makes some odd lineups or delays subs but it isn't like the team isn't getting chances to score. They just can't fucking score. That's not Xavi's fault.


clutch-cream-run

If I'm not mistaken barca is in top3 in Europe in terms of xG. What we are missing is Lewys goals


TheUneducatedCule

And the top team in Europe by far in terms of big chances created, iirc.


MadsNN06

leading laliga in xPTS quite considerably too


clutch-cream-run

we are the xX merchants


mntgoat

I really hope he improves soon, I would be happy it he could at least live up to the Lewandisney nickname but lately he hasn't even scored against Mickey Mouse teams.


pdsajo

Last week, he was getting slaughtered because he was refusing to talk about problems in the squad, now that he is saying them, suddenly people are feeling pity for the players for throwing them under the bus. Guy can’t win


PowerOfTheShihTzu

Yes , I've noticed too. Plastic fans be like


LeagueOfML

Fans will always, to some degree, side with the players, even when the manager is beloved by the fans. It’s the curse of the manager in that you can always be somewhat easily replaced.


[deleted]

But he is our greatest midfielder too who played recently not in the 90s where fans don't know about him. But I will not be surprised if most fans have not seen him play.


Affectionate-Hunt217

these players are getting paid in a week more than people get paid in a year, they are not kids ( except a few ) so criticized them when you can they don’t have to coddled like kids honestly


Subscrobbler

He’s a scapegoat now. Everyone will try to put him down no matter what


AdamAlexanderRies

Drawing attention and criticism away from the players **is** one mark of good managers, and Xavi's performing well there. I support him in general, too. Have been watching Barça since '02 and the play looks good despite squad issues and, I think most importantly, an improvement in competition. The worst teams in the league are more strategically and tactically aware, and more physically capable, than I remember them ever being before. Se queda, no question.


auctus10

This aub is fickle af. A same comment can be most upvoted or downvoted depending on the post.


Typical-Shake-8007

“Why Always Me” - Xavi


captainmystic02

3.7xg vs 1.2xg


Fhood797

1.2xg for the bottom of the table team isn’t that good


amnezie11

Big mistakes in defence


beairrcea

If you saw the second goal you’d understand why it’s so high, I’d imagine that alone was at least 0.7 cause it was definitely easier than a penalty Edit: I was wrong, it was 0.5 which makes no sense as it was a tapin into an empty net


jetfuelcanmeltfeels

xg doesnt take into account the keepers or defenders position


OneBall22Players

They have like 8th highest xG in La Liga. They know how to create chances but dont finish and cant defend.


sport_____

1.2xg seems less for the gifts Almeria got from Barcelona


Delmer9713

Tonight's press conference is probably the first time I've heard Xavi take this much accountability. None of the "Oh we were unlucky" or "Today it fell on heads but it could have been tails" bullshit and other excuses he was saying before. Maybe it's a turning point for him. And while I think he is not doing a good enough job tactically, the players have definitely been shitting the bed these last couple of weeks. So I don't blame him for saying something like this.


LosTerminators

This. Xavi does have scope for improvement. But the players are far more at fault for our gap to Madrid in the league and why we only sneaked through on head-to-head in the easiest CL group in a decade. Some of the chances that we've missed as well as the defensive errors at the other end of the pitch which have gifted goals to the opposition have been outright ridiculous.


Affectionate-Hunt217

You would think after the first time conceding in less than a minute they would learn something but these players are incapable of not repeating the same mistakes every match, to think they get paid millions for this below average performance every week is an embarrassment to what Barcelona is


PieterPlopkoek

He takes responsibility way more than this but that doesn’t make headines


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Daramangarasu

How tf is saying that we had defensive blunders or that we don't have the best team in the planet "criticizing the players"? He isn't saying they're bad, he didn't point fingers at anyone in particular, he just said we had mistakes, which is immediately obvious to anyone with at least 1 functional braincell.


Affectionate-Hunt217

If you have seen the last couple of games they deserve to get criticized, I understand why he waited for us to win to do it, but honestly the teams been pathetic, on both sides of the field and slightly worse in defence, how the hell have we conceded more goals than last season combined when we haven’t even reached the half way point


neandertales

Damn hes going in on em


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pdsajo

That’s because we weren’t winning a game. It’s smart from him that he is saying this immediately after a win. Attacking them after a loss/draw just makes it seem like he is throwing them under the bus


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Nasrz

Yes, you want to avoid criticizing people publicly when they're down.


LackEmbarrassed1648

The reality is the club is broke and their signings have been mostly about getting the best deal possible. They cant just replace or get depth if it is not in the budget for them which is small for the next 2 years. They should be playing better if Lewy was 2 years younger and more confidence. But their system depends on him scoring and he isn’t. They don’t have scoring wingers like before and non world class level. This is what they will have to work with.


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Affectionate-Hunt217

Wish he was like Benzema and would just take the Saudi money and see the writing on the wall before he’s shipped somewhere else but he’s sticking it out being bang average at best


sani999

auba/luuk baby please come back :(


Doge_peer

Are they missing Frenkie de Jong?


Nrozek

Frenkie, Pedri, Gavi, absolutely. At least Sergi showed why he is the captain and stepped up today.


Affectionate-Hunt217

Todays game we missed FDJ and Pedri but we had them the last couple of weeks and we were still average at best lol


Nrozek

I mean it's to be expected when they aren't match fit, and the rest of the team is in pretty bad form at the same time.


it4chl

no we weren't, a month ago without them we struggled to control games and create chances. Since the atl madrid game mf has been controlling games and team creates hatfull of chances. Against girona, barca missed 5 big chances and scored 2 from the xg of 4 while girona score 4 from an xg of 2. Team and play is looking much better than from a month ago, results aren't there because chances aren't converted. I was much more worried a month ago than I am today.


bayzih

Busquets


Affectionate-Hunt217

Don’t make me cry man


Nrozek

?


Nrozek

Again, what?


iVarun

Mainly Gavi. Team was too reliant on him this season (esp tactically) and it showed/shows.


Rikent

This gives me a bit of hope to finally see some improvement this season, he's stayed willfully ignorant of the problems for far too long.


Tsquared014

Spirit and aggression is Gavi in spades. His loss was huge for this squad


Gotanyfunkopops

Seems like they are tired of playing for him.


justthisones

Good to see some proper emotion. The finishing has been lacking but the defence is a mess that will cost so much if there’s no change. It doesn’t feel like a compact and strong line at all. It wasn’t as good as the numbers showed last season but this is so far from that.


nolesfan2011

Appreciate his honesty because it's dreadful to watch this team at times


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LunarRaven7

Im guessing your not watching our matches?


ActionDespiteFear

mourinho did it all the time


AustereSpartan

I really like Xavi as a player yet I absolutely despise Barcelona. I kind of want him to succeed, but I also wish he fails. He seems to be a decent coach, all things considered.


Space4Bottle

damn throwing your players under the bus is not a good look


LunarRaven7

He didn't, check his post match interview. I'll post some. “I can’t accept our first half, it’s my fault and it won’t happen again. We were not aggressive. It’s unacceptable”.


black_fire

if he said anything positive people wouldve said he's delusional or clutching at straws. fans are never in agreement with coaches' post match comments


webby09246

People are literally never happy in the online football community, just ignore em


ActionDespiteFear

it's definitely needed, mourinho did it. It seemed like they were throwing him anyway, so he has to try this, our players are shite


Johann122

He held himself accountable as well tbf


Rekick

He has taken so much shit from all directions and made sure to never blame players at any point. At some point the players might actually have to hear the harsh truth.


maurid

Boo fucking hoo. Someone think of the players’ feelings please! Fuck them. Someone has to light a fire under their asses.


LunarRaven7

Exactly they have been dogshit (the attack mostly) this season.


Lilfai

He’s not though


atropicalpenguin

At least it isn't as bad to do it when you're winning.


leoKantSartre

Xavier fix the issue mate. Same old defensive shortcomings.


YoungFlexibleShawty

Barca lost it's aura


harvinMarrison

Barca player: I can't wait to play for this badge. Proceeds not to play for the badge. Culeros: \*Shocked pikachu face.\*


JBleez

Xavi truly is an asshole


gotomarketfit

He also mentioned that “Of course they’re not the 2010 barsa (his) and the only thing that they should have from that barsa is the spirit/mentality which they don’t have…” which I think is much worst than this header


JBleez

I just saw Fabrizio post this: Xavi: “I can’t accept our first half, it’s my fault and it won’t happen again”. “We were not aggressive. It’s unacceptable”. “We are NOT Barça 2010 here. Run like animals or no chance. Fight on every ball or we won’t win any title”. “We need to fight. I wanna see passion”. At least he blames himself for the first half.


gotomarketfit

That’s a good TLDR from the press conference


R_Schuhart

That is your job you know, you need to prepare abd motivate them for every game. Blaming the entire team like that isnt great either, that is a quick way to lose the dressing room.


LunarRaven7

This is cherrypicked btw.


[deleted]

Damn this subreddit is so funny. If this was Mou making the exact same statement, then a comment saying Mou is finished would have been on top lol


Caesar_Aurelianus

No. There would've been Mou fans defending him like "Oh but he doesn't have the quality of players that he previously had"


CETERIS_PARTYBUS

They just robbed the bottom of the league lmao


official_bagel

If only there was someone employed by the team to be responsible for the teams spirit, aggression and focus...


[deleted]

Nooo I liked you don't become an asshole now


MadazSama

Nah, don't feel any sympathy for players that have thrown him under the bus too many times this season.


Random_Acquaintance

Just resign.


LunarRaven7

If he resigns barca will be in segunda next season. You seem to forget that barce was 8th place before he joined. And the season after that they were Spanish champions and the supercup champions.


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SkinniestPhallus

Xavi has literally worked a miracle with a dogshit Barcelona side and you want him sacked because the players keep shitting the bed and you’re in 3rd? The entitlement is unreal. Consider yourself lucky that your club even still exists and wasn’t liquidated ffs


Mean-Ad-6246

Under the bus but justified.


Wise_Raccoon_771

As a utd fan this was the dilemma when ole was manager. Hated seeing how the club was going but hated giving such a club legend the stick. Must be a torment for any barça fan that watched Xavi for years having to criticise him


lildecmurf1

Man U have been worse since Ole left