Ahead of today’s El Clasico, Xavi Hernandez has come out in French newspaper L’Equipe and blasted former Barcelona manager Frank Rikaard for undervaluing him, mostly because of his size:
“Rijkaard did not believe in me. He wanted our game to be based on a superior physical level. He believed that it was the only way to be at the same level as the top clubs in Europe.”
“Four or five years ago, I was [deemed] terrible and useless. I was Barca’s cancer! A player 1,70m tall was simply impossible.”
A cancer? Wow. Strong words. Sounds like times were tough for small men under Rikaard. And things couldn’t be more different under manager Pep Guardiola who took the core of that team which won 2 La Liga titles and one Champions League and created an even better, more Barca-like team.
Indeed, today, it’s hard to imagine Barcelona without Xavi. Its identity is perhaps more associated with his style and image than the great Lionel Messi.
Xavi hammers home Barcelona’s second goal in the FIFA Club World Cup final vs Santos. Assisted by Dani Alves.
There’s a good example of why Xavi has been short-listed for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or. But of course Xavi doesn’t have to score to be one of the best players in the world. Mostly, Xavi does it with his passing, his creativity, his vision and his leadership.
Against Santos today, Xavi is in complete control of the midfield.
FIFA has announced its 3-man short-list for the 2011 Ballon d’Or and it is no surprise who the players are: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi Hernandez.
All three players work their magic in Spain’s La Liga.
Messi and Ronaldo each scored a stunning 53 goals last season, while Xavi is widely regarded as the chief architect of Barcelona’s league and Champions League wins last year.
This year’s vote will be much closer than last year when Barca dominated the short-list with Andres Iniesta included among Xavi and the winner, Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo is sure to get plenty of votes for 2011 due in no small part to the resurgence of his team, Real Madrid and the fact that he remains one of the most popular athletes in the world.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Zurich on January 9, 2012.
Xavi: “It is improving my game to have Cesc here. He comes near to get the ball, he gives us penetration. And in a way we interchange so that if it’s not him it’s me. And the opposite as well. But Cesc would improve anyone’s game. With his position on the pitch he’s a player who usually gets forward but sometimes he likes to get back to pickup the ball. The other day when I scored against Osasuna, he dropped back and I got further forward. Football is a game about positioning and when I see where Cesc is I’ll go to the other side…It’s a question of covering positions that’s all.”
Should it be Xavi Hernandez for his mid-fielding genius during Barcelona’s La Liga and Champions League wins?
Xavi led Barcelona to Champions League triumph
Should it be Lionel Messi for scoring 53 goals in 55 appearances for FC Barcelona, including 31 in the Spanish top flight and a record-equalling 12 in the UEFA Champions League?
Messi tied the record for Champions League goals
Or should it be Cristiano Ronaldo who picked up the ESM Golden Shoe, registering an incredible 40 Liga goals for second-placed Madrid?
Ronaldo was top scorer in La Liga
Xavi, Messi, Ronaldo – that is the three-man short-list for the inaugural UEFA Best Player Award which will be presented on August 25th. We like this new award very much for many reasons:
It is based on a player’s performance over a season, instead of a calendar year (this has been one of our criticisms of the FIFA Ballon d’Or)
It recognizes the best player in Europe irrespective of his nationality (which should include almost every player of substance in the world of football and therefore compete with FIFA’s own best player award)
It will be decided live, electronically and therefore transparently when 53 journalists make their votes at the event in Monaco (who should in theory be more objective than the coaches and players who vote on the FIFA Ballon d’Or)
Now – please cast your mind back to the previous 2010-2011 European season and pretend you are one of those esteemed 53 journalists sitting with an electronic voting device; pretend that you are Albanian journalist Sokol Gjoshi of “RTV Albania” or Spaniard Rogelio Rengel of “Don Balon” or Frenchman Jean-Pierre Rivais of “L’Equipe” or Italian Alberto Cerruti of “La Gazzetta dello Sport” or Macedonia’s legendary Igor Ivanovski of “Makedonski Sport”; live the dream of being a jet-setting Euro-journalist and cast your vote with us by clicking on the poll below…
