Tribute To The Greatest Conductor Of a Generation

After confirming his departure  from the Camp Nou after 24 years and confirmed to start for Barcelona for their last game of the season, Soccer alerts asks: What is it that makes the spanish maestro tick?

It would make sense if Barcelona’s post-season party has the feel of a New Orleans funeral. Their last game of 2014/15 will mark the exit of the club’s greatest conductor, the master puppeteer, the symbol of tiki-taka, Xavi. It is the end of an era.

He's not dead, just leaving, but before Xavi, Spain were the perennial underachievers and Barcelona had won a solitary European Cup. Now on his way to Qatar (retiring, to all intents and purposes) Xavi leaves behind Spain and Barcelona teams who ruled the world, and did so in style.

The fast tempo, piggy-in-the-middle passing movements, the complete dominance in possession over any team they faced – with Xavi in the side, some of this era’s best players have reached their complete potential.

 

“The way I look at it, Xavi deserves the Ballon d’Or not because he’s the best, but because his hard work allows other players to come to the fore.” – Johann Cruyff
Pep Guardiola’s 2008-12 spell in charge of Barcelona was when Xavi truly excelled and won the bulk of his trophies. He translated his manager’s demands and ideas into spellbinding performances on the pitch, managing to record 100 per cent passing accuracy several times when frequently passing the ball over one hundred times per game.
Playing in the same side as Lionel Messi has clearly helped to make Xavi such a high achiever, but as Spain’s European Championships and World Cups prove, it is not Messi alone. Guardiola may have built his team around the Argentine, realising he had the talent to win games on his own, but Xavi has directed the supporting cast.
“Think quickly, look for spaces, that’s what I do. All day. Always looking. Space, space, space” - Xavi
As a product of La Masia, Barcelona’s youth academy, Xavi grew up with the club’s philosophy. As a player, he has become the emblem of it. Like Guardiola the player did for Barcelona, Xavi controlled the game by having the ball. He told El Periodico in 2009:
“The one who has the ball, is the master of the game.”
The most crucial requirement for any great team is balance. For all the attacking flair and defensive power a team may possess, someone has to link it all together. At Barca the way it tends to work is as follows. Sergio Busquets wins the ball, Andres Iniesta drives forward and Messi scores.
The missing ingredient is Xavi. Dozens of passes flow through him in every move, and are what allow these passages of play to develop in the first place.
The same is true in the Spain sides he played in. Xavi controlled the pace of the game by forcing everything to go through him. This culminated against Italy in the final of Euro 2012 in a display of footballing dominance that was almost embarrassing. That 4-0 victory remains one of the most magical displays in the international game’s history. At its heart was Xavi, with 95 passes to the brilliant Andrea Pirlo’s 57.
Whenever Xavi receives the ball he seems to know exactly where everyone else on the pitch is at one time. It is little surprise that he rates Paul Scholes so highly. “He plays the game the way it should be played,” Xavi said. “At his peak he was the best midfield player in the world”.
The two share many similarities. Both played for and were symbols of their hometown clubs, both had a habit of seizing complete control of a game they ever played and both regularly won trophies. Quick passes, using the space, triangles, double passes, depth, pausing, rhythm, I pass and I move, I help you, I look for you, I stop, I raise my head, I look and, above all, I open up the pitch. “
The emergence of Ivan Rakitic as heir to Xavi’s throne means the Spaniard has often started games against tougher opposition this season on the bench. Xavi’s lack of pace has become all too apparent at the age of 35, but even in decline, Xavi has recorded a 92 per cent pass accuracy.
Against Atletico Madrid last Sunday, Barcelona dominated possession with 77 per cent of the ball. Their crucial break came through a typically stunning Lionel Messi goal, brought about by a rapid movement of close control, sharp passing and clinical finishing.
With the score at 1-0, and with Barcelona needing to hold on to secure the title, Xavi took to the field at the Vicente Calderon in the 82nd minute. He replaced Andres Iniesta and took the captain’s armband for the penultimate time in La Liga. Luis Enrique wanted to tighten up the midfield and close out the game, Xavi’s dependable, controlling presence was the perfect way to do this and secure the league. At his peak, Xavi controlled every game he was ever part of. It is no surprise that Spain’s dismal performance at the Brazil World Cup 2014 came as Xavi began to decline, simply incapable of performing in the same way he was used to for 90 minutes every week. His battery has finally started to deplete; the ticking watch he’d been powering for the previous 10 years slowed down and lost track of the time.

As the end of the season approaches and the last trophy is lifted by barcelona's sensational captain he should never be forgotten in the minds of soccer lovers and lovers of the beautiful game far and wide. He is absolutely the symbol of tiki-taka and the great conductor of the best orchestras a generation will ever see.