Xavi Hérnandez: The maestro of Tiki-Taka

The shouting of the crowd rises to a crescendo “XAVI! XAVI!” Xavi Hérnandez is waiting to take the free kick. The ball soars over the wall of players attempting to block it, and curves with a will of its own, and neatly finds its way into the goal, just out of the grasp of the goalkeeper.

He wakes up with a thudding heart, eyes shining in the dark. He knows it was just a dream, but one that would soon come true.

Xavi Hérnandez Creus, known the world over as simply Xavi, was born on January 25, 1980 in Terrassa, a suburb of Barcelona. It is inevitable that this will affect the way he grows up – living and breathing football. His family conversations are mostly about football – they are true culés – they don’t know to be any different.

Xavi grows up, as does every little boy in the area, dreaming only of playing football. There is never a thought of any other choice. His biggest blessing – the club he revers more than anything right at his doorstep; it is also his biggest challenge – how to get be so good that he can get into La Masia.

It doesn’t turn out to be so difficult after all. He is born with such talent, and the hard work that he puts in, ensures that he enters the Academy in 1991, at the age of 11. By this time, the late legendary Johan Cruyff has already graced Camp Nou twice – once as player and the other as manager. He has established the concept of “Total Football”, where every player in the team moves around the field not adhering to rigid positions that has been seen in trading football played till now. He is also instrumental in establishing the La Masia, the Barcelona Youth Academy, where Xavi learns to perfect his style of play.

He makes his debut for the ‘A’ team in 1998, scoring his first goal in August of the same year. However, it is not for his goal making abilities that he makes his mark. His greatest achievement is in orchestrating the game on the field like a music conductor. The way he created opportunities for players like Henry, Messi, Villa and Fabregas is something magical.

In his words, “I look for spaces all day. I’m always looking. All day! Here? No.There? People who haven’t played don’t know how hard that is. Space! Space! And Space. I see the space and pass. That’s what I do.”

And what a dancer he is with the ball literally glued to his feet. The tiki-taka, the entire philosophy of that style of play! He owns it.

But the Barcelona philosophy of humility also keeps him grounded. He is one of the few players who have never received a red card in his entire career. He’s down to earth beyond imagination, letting his talent on the ground do the talking.

He is also the most respected player, not only in the FCB dressing room but also in the Spanish national team. Along with his longtime friend Iker Casillas, the Real Madrid captain, bitter Barcelona rivals traditionally, he maintains equilibrium in a team that has strong nationalistic tendencies. Both Casillas and Xavi are honored with the “Prince of the Asturias” award by the king of Spain himself.

He is also the player to win the most trophies.28 and still counting! Yet he is first to heap praise on other players; one of the midfielders he admires most is Paul Scholes; coming from Xavi it is high praise indeed.

To his legions of fans however it is of absolute disbelief that he has never won the Ballon d’Or despite being nominated 3 times. However for Xavi the fact that he got to live that little boy’s dream is his greatest achievement.

In the words of Pep Guardiola, “Xavi is a player who has the Barcelona DNA, someone who has the taste for good football, someone who is humble and someone who has loyalty to this club. From the first moment I saw him play, I knew he would become the brain behind Barcelona for years to come.”

Words cannot really capture the talent behind the man; they seem superfluous in the face of such greatness.

Ballon d’Or winner or not, Xavi is undoubtedly a legend in his way. A role model revered by the players he has left behind in Barcelona, and for an entire generation of aspirants in La Masia and other countries across the globe.

-Bindu Nayar

A tribute to the Messi(ah)

“I don’t need the best hairstyle or the best body. Just give me a ball at my feet and I’ll show you what I can do” – Lionel Messi

The man held his son’s hand tightly, trying not to let his anxiety show. They had traveled a long way, armed only with an intense conviction in his son’s ability. Either their fortunes would be made or their hopes would be dashed cruelly to the ground. Only time would tell if his gamble would pay off.

Thirteen year-old Lio was absorbing the aura of the new city, filing every new thing in his memory, so that he could tell his mother, his brothers and sister when he returned to his hometown. Of course they would return, and soon. Why would they want to live in a big city, where people seemed to be in a great hurry to get somewhere, as if they’d lost their way?

The next morning they arrived at the football stadium, where a group of young boys were already in the middle of a game. Charly Rexach, a friendly man who had met them in Rosario, their hometown, gestured to Lio to join the game. The moment he let go of his father’s hand and stepped onto the grass, all his apprehensions faded away. He confidently tackled the ball passed to him, and with an agility and speed in one so young, he crisscrossed the field, leaving his tacklers behind, scoring with ease. This was to become a common sight in a few years.

Rexach looked at the other men with him, and introduced the lone figure who had been watching his son’s magic on the field, “This is Jorge Messi, and that little magician on the field is his son, Lio”.

Had it not been for his growth deficiency problem, would the world have known about Lionel Andres Messi, 6-time Ballon d’Or winner? Would he have stayed on in Rosario, playing for his beloved team Newell’s Old Boys? Would there have been millions of frenzied fans across the world passionately arguing about the beauty of his left foot and Cristiano Ronaldo’s right? Would FC Barcelona be the club it is today? Feared, envied, untouchable by even the best teams in the other football leagues?

Maybe, maybe not. His beginnings in Barcelona seemed like a fairy tale. The third son of an Argentine factory workers impressed the mighty FCB to sponsor his treatment for growth hormone deficiency. That decision rewarded FCB the best player in the world, who has won plenty of silverware for them, who owes the club his utmost loyalty.

It is true that FC Barcelona has been a force to reckon with even before the arrival of Messi into La Masia, the famed school that has churned out gems like Pep Guardiola. Luis Enrique, Xavi Hérnandez, Andres Iniesta, to name a few.

Then what is it that has these two intertwined? Their glories have been on the rise since 2006. The club has long boasted world class players in their ranks. But with the coming of age of Messi, FCB has become seemingly invincible. Is it due to the ease with which they win their matches or is it the complete cohesion with which they play, giving the impression of being one mind one unit.

And that one mind surely is Messi’s. He commands the field like a Colossus, directing the passes, gauging the situation and taking advantage of the opportunities presented, giving life to the coach’s strategy. It would be difficult to envisage Barca without Lio as the two having been synonymous for so long.

The heights of success to which Messi has taken Barca sounds almost too good to be true. Seven La Liga titles (and in the running for an eighth), four UEFA Champions League titles, three Copa del Rey titles. With him FC Barcelona has become the only club to win the treble twice.

But what makes him truly unique, what resonates with his die-hard fans is his child-like delight in the club’s victories, his ashen-faced countenance at unbelievable losses, his speed, his sharp reading of the situation inside the goal box, his inclusion of every Barca team member, his selflessness which prompts him to assist others with goal opportunities, the quiet man happy to let his on-ground activities speak to him.

Messi still has a lot of critics and in my opinion they are wasting their breath with no dearth of topics highlighting Messi’s failures or shortcomings. The top two debates are a complete waste of time: a) who is better – Messi or Ronaldo? And b) how can Messi be the best ever if he’s not done for country what he’s achieved for club?

The first, is without doubt, completely insulting and totally unfair to these two phenomenal players. Both have different styles of play, different roles in their teams, but the rivalry between their fans seems to have caught on at some level in the players’ own psyches, each trying to one-up the other, each pushing the other to further heights of brilliance. Instead of arguing, let’s just sit slack-jawed in front of our TV sets, as these two magicians mesmerize us on a weekly basis.

The second, seems on the face of it, to be a valid point raised by football pundits.  However, the onus on winning the Cup should not rest on Messi alone but also on the other players like Sergio “Kun” Agüero, Angel diMaria, Higuaín, Otamendi, Rojo, Lavezzi, DiMichelis, Mascherano, Zabaletta, Dyabla, Pastore. Are they not contributing mightily to their respective clubs? Yes they are. Are they playing at the same level for country? No they are not.

So why is Messi’s name offered as bait? Why is he alone labelled anti-national? The coaching staff and entire team have to sit and work out ways to stem this unfortunate situation.

People who know Messi have vouched for the fact that the lack of a World Cup title rankles in his mind. In 2014, they reached the finals only to have their hopes dashed by a lone Mario Götze goal. And he has said that he would willingly give up his titles for that one elusive cup.

Anyhow, what a blessed lot we football fans are. To live in an era studded with such players, whose love for the game comes through every time they are on the ground, whether playing for club or country.

The 13 year-old boy has surely come a long way, amassing accolades, wealth and a fan following that would make anyone envious. Did he know when he left his beloved Rosario and his family that one day the world would know him simply as Messi? All he wanted and still wants is to play football. And what a legacy it is. Simply impossible to emulate certainly in this lifetime.

The Messi(ah) of football, the most famous no. 10 in the world, the creator of wondrous passes; take a bow !

-Bindu Nayar