After El Clasico: Between Xavi and Ancelotti... Who needs Messi?

Let's be honest, Barcelona's victory over Real Madrid, given the data of the past few weeks, is not surprising.

A few months ago, it was crazy to talk about it, but now the only element of surprise was the result, which looks big compared to expectations, but doesn't look that big compared to the progress of the match.

Barcelona won the Clasico for the first time after 6 matches without a win, stopping Real Madrid's series of consecutive victories in Spain's major matches at 5, with four goals without a response.

In the end, the ability to say phrases that seemed completely unlikely not so long ago remains the most telling sign of transformation, whether positive or negative.

The opposite of the thing is his killer

"Whatever the outcome, whether he wins, draws or loses in Sunday's Clasico against Real Madrid, there is valid evidence that Barcelona is turning into a force again" (1)

This was the talk of the "ESPN" sports network, for example, before the match. It was no secret that Barcelona had become a team capable of defeating Real Madrid in record time.

It was no longer difficult to see that there was some light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Returning everything to how it was before seemed something that would not happen 3 to 5 years ago in the most optimistic estimates, but now there are clear steps on the way back.

Each step leads to the next.

First, the administration of President Juan Laporta sought to control the team's salaries and reform the economic situation in any way. The team's quality and then its results declined, in a story whose only evil - one way or another - became former coach Ronald Koeman.

This was not 100% correct, but what is based on Josep Maria Bartomeu's decisions is invalid.

Koeman's departure would have inevitably happened, and the arrival of Xavi, although it seemed like a very romantic move, was Barcelona's best move since Luis Enrique's departure.

In January, by taking advantage of the maximum possible golden opportunities in the transfer market to add more quality while ensuring that the already bad economic situation did not worsen, the team's form became better individually and collectively, with full respect for all the names, the attacking line made up of Adama Traore, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres, looks a bit better than Abdel-Samad El-Zalzouli, Luc de Jong and Ferran Gutgla (2).

Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Adama Traore of Barcelona

In parallel, Xavi has been rebuilding rules that have been absent from the club for a while, so there is a clear pattern of training that serves the ideas applied on the field directly, and the psychological factor has risen a lot for the players, and the famous Barcelona style has begun to return to the fore, and with it a distinctive mix of new fusion And the return of life to the old, and on top of all that, there is no longer anyone who can outstrip Xavi or go over him in the dressing rooms. Those who remain of what they called “holy cows” are former friends and colleagues who were their leader in one day, and at this moment they need him more than he needs them. And the evidence on the field, especially Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

The result is that El Clasico, which some thought would be the moment of truth to test Barcelona's awakening with Xavi recently, has become its crown jewel.

It was not a test, but conclusive evidence beyond doubt.

The man who took on the very complex task in November, imposed his style, status, and system in record time, turning the question from "Was Xavi the right choice?"

To “Why didn’t he come from the beginning of the season?”, but perhaps the latter was not the best option, which we will discuss later.

Two men lost Messi

Bringing the question to the other helmsman: What has Carlo Ancelotti really been doing since the start of the season?

The Italian received a cohesive team in all aspects from the beginning, to the point that if you compare him to his Catalan rivals at the time, you will find that he surpasses him in all respects, from the quality of the list to the administrative stability.

Do Real Madrid fans feel that the man has left a clear mark since August and until today?

Was he able to impose a clear identity or a fixed playing system, whatever it was?

The answer is: Yes, the man has more or less entrenched a period that Barcelona fans know well: one-man rule.

An attacking system consisting of Karim Benzema, in which Vinicius Junior shines next to him.

If Vinicius misses or plays badly, Benzema will act in one way or another, but who will act if Benzema is absent?

Of course, every fan of the royal is aware of the extent of the flaws that appeared on his team in this Clasico, but that did not stop many of them from saying that the presence of Benzema would have changed the outcome of the match.

We do not intend to discuss this hypothesis because it is of course, if the final result did not change, at least we can agree that the form of the attacking process of the Merengue would have differed and would become more dangerous, but we want to extract something specific from this proposition, in the context of comparing roles and importance on the field only: Does Benzema differ? With Ancelotti much about Lionel Messi with Ernesto Valverde?

Although Real Madrid is rich in offensive elements, and did not have to make 3 offensive reinforcements in the winter in order not to play with youngsters, it remains one of Ancelotti's most prominent recurring crises.

Give him Gattuso and Seedorf with Pirlo and he'll put them around him to make a great midfield, give him Real Madrid 2014 and he'll give you indomitable rebounds, give him Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Rodriguez and he'll give you a deluge of crosses and shots from outside, but take away from him one of the most important spinners he used at the start of the season, he'll lose With a clean quartet, losing him would be the first justification.

Talking is not about El Clasico and Benzema, but about Atletico Madrid and Luka Modric in 2015, and maybe - just maybe - this may be one of the reasons Ancelotti won only four leagues in a quarter of a century of training (3).

The man, who suffers from excessive flexibility, almost completely freezes when we reach this particular juncture in the season, and this is what happened very clearly when Messi lost his own against Barcelona.

The arrival of the team system to this state of dependence on one individual is something Barcelona knows well about its shortcomings before its advantages.

This is not an allegation of falsehood, but rather clear scenes on the field supported by Ancelotti himself, who refused to take false credit for what his team achieved against Paris Saint-Germain two weeks ago, while some who watched only the second half, most likely, managed to talk about Ancelotti's tactical superiority over Mauricio. Pochettino, the Italian man, attributed the credit to Benzema and the magic of the Santiago Bernabeu (4).

And while Ancelotti lost his version of Messi in a match, the real Barcelona Messi lost himself three months before Xavi arrived.

This scene brought out a series of theories that came back to life again with the emergence of reports of Messi's return after the recent disappointment of Paris and the whistles of the masses against him, which theories say that Xavi did not intend to take over the leadership of Barcelona until Messi leaves.

Is it really possible that there is a coach who does not want Messi so much that he refuses to take his dream job until he gets rid of him?

This theory has two main pillars: the first is that Xavi will need to impose a certain style with strict measures, and he will not be able to do so in the presence of a counter or equal force inside the dressing room, and the second is purely technical, as Xavi himself expressed by saying: “We cannot have A player who does not press in our team. This is very clear. Pressure is the basis of our game, and it is not negotiable" (5).

Messi does not press.

This is not a surprise, even in his last days with Barcelona it was very clear, and justified to be honest, he spares his efforts for more important matters.

At the end of last January, Messi was in the last 7% of his position peers in the French League on the level of pressing, in the last 2% of the successful presses, and of course in the last 1% in terms of interventions.

Re-read Xavi's statement and tell us how this theory is not gaining any legitimacy in the minds now (6).

The ram was slaughtered.. there is no going back

Yes, the theory has a clear grounding in logic, but what most really supports it is not technical reasons or digital analyzes, but rather the movements of Xavi himself before arriving.

The man did not consider himself ready to take on the task at the beginning of the season, but only three months later he agreed, what has changed?

Did I complete the necessary readiness during that short period?

What changed was not Koeman's departure. Everyone knew from the beginning of the season that it was a matter of time, and that the alternative - Xavi in ​​this case - had agreed before the start of the season, Koeman would not have continued until November.

The real change was the summer economic carnage that dumped names like Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, the last of Bartomeu's biggest sins of all time.

But if the fans will reconcile - which has already happened - with the departure of Griezmann because he does not have any balance, and because the defect was clearly visible to a terrible extent, then Messi's departure is not an event that goes unnoticed.

The official position was clearly stated, and Messi and Laporta tacitly agreed to assign blame for the economic catastrophe caused by the previous regime, but that was not enough to unite the finger of accusations (7).

Laporta

During the first weeks following the announcement of the fifth of August, we were surrounded by noises from all sides. Sometimes Laporta was responsible because he knew from the beginning that Messi’s contract renewal was practically impossible, and despite that he continued to deceive everyone, and at other times we find that Messi himself is to blame because he refused to play Free, followed by his father, Jorge Messi, who planned from the beginning to transfer him to Paris Saint-Germain, and so the sequence continued to the extent that some of these fingers turned to Coman.

One minute of logical thinking will, in most cases, reach the answer: This man, after all, remains the last to want Messi to lose as the team grows more and more worn out.

What simply happened is that Koeman, who was brought in by an administration that wanted to shield him in front of the fans, to bear some compelling measures, such as the sale of Luis Suarez, came to him by another administration that postponed his dismissal until he inherited the title of the coach whose era witnessed a historic collapse after the departure of Messi, in preparation for his slaughter at a later time.

Koeman has many errors, this cannot be denied, but what cannot be denied also is that his path was full of traps, but what does not excuse him is his previous knowledge of the existence of these circumstances and possibilities, and his acceptance of this opportunity surrounded by thorns because he knows that it - inevitably - will not come again. 8).

Remember the famous saying that Barcelona would turn into one of the mid-table teams once Messi left?

In the past, this was just an impression, but it became an obvious and indisputable fact once he was gone.

Barcelona scored only two goals in the Champions League groups, collecting 7 points and no more, and achieved many miserable results in La Liga, most notably the loss against Rayo Vallecano, which overthrew the Dutch coach in the return plane (9).

Which is better?

That Xavi take over all this chaos that Koman received, or leave its traces linked to him first so that the time of the "Savior" comes later?

First, we must admit that the man has a footballing project with clear ideas and landmarks, and its implementation of course requires many things, the first, most important and most vital of which is time, which is never easy to provide in big clubs.

cure

Now no one is talking about Xavi's bad results in the beginning, which is a very normal thing in the reconstruction stages, because Koeman paid the bill before his departure, and Xavi delivered a wounded person who does not have the luxury of complaining.

Laporta says that Messi's departure and having to deal with the era after it was a historical inevitability, all that happened was that it came two years earlier than its expected time, but what is confusing here is waiting for Xavi at first and then his quick approval later (10).

Was he just waiting for the consequences of taking direct responsibility for the chaos that followed Messi's departure?

Did he know that Messi would leave and wanted to stay away from the scene so that this would be done and not affect his start, or was he really not wanting Messi in the team, as it is said?

If the third was correct, he would not have been able to make a decision with this boldness and open his era with it. Messi was not Ronaldinho, who was ousted by Guardiola at the beginning of his era for excessive drinking and evening parties and his absence from training, and far from all that is a close friend and fellow glories unforgettable.

It is very difficult both physically and personally (11).

Whether he just knew Messi was going, or wanted him to go, in both cases the best option seems to be to wait for the catastrophe to strike and then start on its ruins.

Given what Xavi has achieved so far, we are certainly in front of a man who is counting his steps well.

We can of course choose the easiest way to deal with this issue and recall the words of Xavi a very few days ago when he said: “Messi is the best player in history, and he will always be welcome back to Barcelona. As long as I am the coach, I do not mind if he wants to come here every day. I think We owe him a lot.” But put yourself in his place, whatever your inner intentions, and tell us if you would say something different (12).

The clock will not turn back, and Messi most likely will not return to Barcelona, ​​whether Xavi wants it or opposes it. The economic reasons are still clear, and the sporting reasons are clearer.

Apart from the emotion that will greet him with hugs whenever he wants to return, the team has already experienced the most difficult stage after his departure and has shown that there is a possibility to start a new successful era, so does restoring the symbol of the previous era at the age of 35 seem a logical option after all this trouble?

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