This interview was conducted alongside Lord Ping.
Where exactly are Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez? The former legendary midfielder has played under all of the fathers of Barcelona’s modern history, and yet still his side lacks a clear identity on the pitch, or certainly not one that comes from any of his coaches.
Coming through under Louis van Gaal, experiencing his first major spell of success with Frank Rijkaard, and cementing his place on the pantheon of midfield greats at the hand of Pep Guardiola, all three had a major impact on the Blaugrana coach. Van Gaal is known for his rigid positional play, and certainly the early versions of Xavi’s Barcelona were centred around width coming from the wingers on both flanks.
Having recently passed the two-year mark since he took over, it seems fair to say that Xavi’s Barcelona are closest to that Rijkaard, rather than Guardiola. Having played against two of Barcelona’s great sides in the 21st century, first for Chelsea and then for Arsenal, William Gallas told Football Espana what stood out to him as the key difference, being on the other side.
“It was a different period. Rijkaard’s Barcelona had Deco, Ronaldinho and a younger Lionel Messi. It was more individual than Pep’s Barcelona. They relied more on individuals. As Pep came in, Guardiola brought in more movement, playing more as a team. It would be a good game to watch to see Rijkaard’s Barcelona vs Guardiola’s Barcelona.”
Gallas was involved in three of the most iconic European ties involving Barcelona, and indeed, Lionel Messi. In 2009, Messi scored four against Arsenal at Camp Nou in a 6-3 aggregate win. In 2005, Chelsea knocked Barcelona out, but conceded one of the most memorable Ronaldinho goals of all time, his chipped effort from the edge of the area. A year later, they would be eliminated by by Barcelona in 2006 on their way to their second Champions League.
“When Chelsea played Barcelona, the intensity was incredible with so many world class players on the pitch with less mistakes than you’re seeing today. All the defenders knew how to defend and were more mature. For a manager, it’s easier playing young strikers than it is playing young defenders. Young strikers can afford to lose the ball and be themselves a bit more whereas young defenders have to read the game and find that maturity and understanding.”
Those are no doubt flaws visible in Xavi’s teams thus far. Rijkaard had an established Carles Puyol and Rafael Marquez at his disposal, as well as Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Juliano Belleti. On the other hand, Pep Guardiola did blood Gerard Pique, but alongside Puyol, Eric Abidal and Dani Alves.
The current Barcelona side are relying heavily on 20-year-old Alejandro Balde, Ronaldo Araujo and Jules Kounde. The latter pair, now 24 and 25, still appear some way off their peak, or at least maturity. All three were part of an incredibly successful defence last season, but in general, it’s a Barcelona side that has looked defensively weak this campaign. Further forward, Barcelona do seem dependent on individuals to break down defences, rather than pulling them apart with their use of the ball – in that sense, Xavi’s side has thus been far closer to Rijkaard’s edition rather than Guardiola’s team. Something he remarked upon after Barcelona scraped past Almeria.
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