“Papa, did you actually play with Messi?” asks Xavi Hernandez’s son, Dan, aged six.
“Sure.”
“Neymar?”
“Sure.”
“Pele?”
“No, no, no.”
“Cristiano?”
“No, however I performed in opposition to him many instances.”
“Do you actually know Messi, Papa? Do you’ve gotten his quantity? Do you’ve gotten the variety of Cristiano? Do you actually know Lamine?”
Xavi Hernandez, 45, is strolling round a museum-like part of his household dwelling in central Barcelona amid a whole bunch of soccer shirts that he’s both worn or swapped with opponents. One among few folks in soccer to play greater than 1,000 skilled video games, 767 of them for FC Barcelona’s first workforce, there’s quite a bit to go at.
Then there are the shirts acquired in his 133 video games for Spain. And the trophies, so many trophies, particular person and workforce. He’s there in France Soccer’s all-time Ballon d’Or Dream workforce with Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona, Maldini and the Brazilian Ronaldo. And sure, he is aware of or knew all of them, in case his son asks once more.
“My kids began to understand that papa was concerned in soccer,” he says.
“We didn’t speak about it an excessive amount of, we wished them to have a traditional life. However then they’ve FIFA and see the gamers. And in school, the children mentioned, ‘Your papa was the coach of Barcelona!’ And my son would reply: ‘Is he? I don’t know.’ So he got here dwelling and requested me. I couldn’t lie.
“My son loves Lamine Yamal and Pedri. He loves Barca. Our daughter is 9. She loves (Robert) Lewandoski and Raphinha. We’re a Barca household. If the workforce play, we watch the lads and the ladies’s workforce. The children acquire the stickers for each women and men. We’re pleased that Barca is doing so nicely. Many individuals assume that I wouldn’t be pleased as a result of I’m not there anymore. However I’m very pleased that the workforce and Hansi Flick is doing nicely.
“Now we have an excellent workforce that’s solely going to get higher as a result of it’s so younger. Hansi got here right here to see me right here and we spoke for 2 hours. Now we have a superb relationship and he mentioned, ‘Thanks a lot. What you helped create right here means I’m pleased. The gamers prepare exhausting they usually get a few of their mentality from you’.
Xavi standing in entrance of his wall of shirts (Andy Mitten for The Athletic)
“After which you’ve gotten what the media and the board members say. It may be tough in Barcelona. That in the event you say one thing constructive in regards to the present coach then that’s unfavorable to the previous coach — me. It doesn’t should be like that. I’ve a superb relationship and respect for Hansi and his gamers, simply as I had for Ronald Koeman earlier than me. Koeman needs to be credited for bringing in Gavi, (Alejandro) Balde and different younger gamers, which I benefited from, and he received the Copa del Rey.
“However in the event you ask if I’m pleased and proud to have given debuts to Lamine and (Pau) Cubarsi, after all I’m. Lamine is a genius. He’ll change into the perfect.”
At The Athletic, we’re operating a two-part interview with Xavi, performed in his dwelling in Barcelona in April. Right now, he speaks to Andy Mitten about his soccer obsession, the gamers and golf equipment he loves to observe, the coaches he admires, the model of soccer he likes to play and his emotions about Carlo Ancelotti’s remedy at Actual Madrid.
Within the second half, operating subsequent week, he tells Pol Ballus the complete story of his time teaching the membership, his dealings with Lionel Messi, creating gamers like Yamal and the realities of life within the Barca hotseat.
“These are my recollections, largely good recollections,” says Xavi, pleased to point out us round his memorabilia. “I need my kids and my household and mates to see this. I used to be so privileged to have this life. I by no means thought I might have the profession I had. My aim was to play in La Liga. The dream was to play for Barca however in my thoughts it was unimaginable to do what I did. To win a World Cup with Spain. Argentina and Brazil and Germany received the World Cup, not Spain.
“Higher than that, I loved it. I used to be enjoying within the World Cup remaining with none stress or nerves. I’d felt stress earlier than the sport, however within the sport I used to be relaxed. I used to be on the prime of soccer, I can not complain.
“It was the identical within the Champions League remaining. Towards United each instances, particularly at Wembley, I used to be pondering, ‘Give me the ball, give me the ball!’ These are my finest recollections. Not simply profitable, however having fun with the sport. The mentality of Johan Cruyff (the doormat outdoors the well-known dwelling has the phrases: ‘Salid I Disfrutad – Johan Cruyff: ‘Exit and luxuriate in’).
“And we did get pleasure from. The 2 Champions League wins in opposition to United have been amongst our greatest performances, individually and collectively. Wembley (in 2011) was nearly the proper efficiency. At half-time in that sport, I used to be actually indignant. We deserved to be main 3-0 and it was 1-1. I destroyed a bottle of water and shouted, ‘What is that this, it’s unimaginable!’ I wasn’t like this usually. I felt we have been being silly. We have been a lot better within the first half.
“Within the second half, we received two extra objectives and deserved to win. I bear in mind Wayne Rooney’s face 10 minutes earlier than the top. He checked out me, he’d had sufficient. I believe they felt that we deserved to win. After, within the press convention, Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned that it was the perfect workforce that he’d ever confronted. That was superb to listen to.”
“In Rome, 2009, United have been implausible within the first 20 minutes. We suffered quite a bit. Three possibilities. Cristiano Ronaldo after which a rebound. Pique and Park. If United had scored, then it might have modified every little thing, however after Samuel (Eto’o) scored we managed the sport fully.”
Rooney walks off as Xavi and Iniesta rejoice (Picture: CARL DE SOUZA/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
We stroll previous the awards. Thrice, Xavi was named within the prime three gamers of the world in an period dominated by two, Messi and Ronaldo. Then there are the shirts worn within the finals for Barcelona and Spain.
“I saved my very own shirts for the finals I performed in,” he says. “For different video games, I swapped shirts. I’ve greater than 400. In the direction of the top of my profession, after I was 33, I made a decision to swap extra shirts. My mom had known as me and instructed me that I had greater than 200 soccer shirts at my mother and father’ home. I used to be stunned, so I collected them and introduced all of them collectively. I received the thought from (Javier) Saviola’s home.
“However earlier than my mom known as me, I might stroll in the direction of the dressing room on the finish of the sport. Generally I’d deliberately swapped with shut mates – Saviola when he was at Madrid or Malaga, Fernando Navarro at Sevilla, Casillas, Fernando Llorente, Joseba Exteberria. They might say: ‘Hey, let’s change shirts’.
However within the final two years, I might assume, ‘I need the shirt of Luka Modric’, so it was me asking him or (Jeremy) Toulalan from Malaga.”
Then there are books and binders.
“My father, at dwelling in Terrassa, used to gather all of the newspapers that wrote about me from the age of 15. Then, a man from Pamplona, who’s an expert, put all of them collectively in albums. Generally, after I’m bored, I take a look at my cuttings from a sure 12 months. It’s attention-grabbing to learn again on the quantity of criticism I received.
“In 2007, when it was tough within the final years of Frank Rijkaard, the criticism was unimaginable. They mentioned I couldn’t play nicely, that I wasn’t a contemporary footballer, that I used to be too gradual, that I may solely cross the ball sideways. However then Guardiola took over and the criticism stops. There are such a lot of recollections.”
Although he left Barcelona on the finish of final season after two and a half years as coach, soccer stays an enormous a part of his life.
He says: “I nonetheless love soccer, it’s my ardour. I’m watching it 24 hours. My spouse complains to me: ‘Once more!’ she says. ‘Sure nevertheless it’s the Europa League,’ I reply. Did you see the sport between Manchester United and Lyon? It was 4-2 to Lyon. I used to be pondering, ‘Oh no. Very tough now for Amorim!’ After which, 10 minutes later, it was unimaginable.
“Soccer is loopy. And now [we speak before the first leg] I believe United are favourites with the second leg in Previous Trafford. If the second leg was in Bilbao, it might be so tough. They’re like lions. Enjoying soccer in Bilbao is like being within the theatre, it’s like in England. There’s a respect for the opponent, for the referee.
Guardiola as soon as requested Xavi as a participant for his information of a decrease tier opponent (Picture: Alex Caparros/Getty Pictures)
“Bilbao isn’t like the remainder of Spain. I’ve received video games there with Barça and the house supporters have applauded. They’ve respect for the opponents. Valverde at Athletic, tactically, he’s doing so nicely. 4-4-2. They press with Sancet and a No 9, they block with the 2 midfielders working quite a bit – one jumps and one other balances.
“The utmost variety of video games I’ve watched in in the future was eight. I wish to analyse groups. I would put into my pc ‘Atalanta’ after which watch them 4 video games in a row. Why? As a result of I may be to see what Gasperini is doing. Man to man, 90-minute duels for each participant, that’s why they signal sturdy, bodily gamers.
“Or (Roberto) De Zerbi at Marseille. Or Nuno Espirito Santo at Forest. I like to see the totally different kinds of soccer and what coaches are doing. However I will need to have a break from it. I went with my household to Qatar lately and didn’t watch any soccer… simply all of the Champions League video games.
“I watch on a display screen. It’s tough to go to a stadium. My son desires us to go and watch Barcelona nevertheless it’s tough to take a seat within the stand. So I watch on TV and luxuriate in Hansi’s workforce. They press from the perimeters, with Raphinha and Lamine leaping on the similar time, the full-backs too. Defenders Inigo, Cubarsi and Araujo learn the offside so nicely.
“Inter Milan. Not my model enjoying with a line of 5, however they’re doing so nicely with Inzaghi. They’ve performed collectively for a very long time, they stability the workforce nicely within the block, then they break with Lautaro, Dumfries, Thuram or Dimarco. It’s superb. The three midfielders Mkhitaryan, Barrella, Calhanoglu don’t lose the ball. They shortly join a defensive workforce into a completely offensive one.”
What’s the model of Xavi Hernandez, the coach?
“My model is 4-3-3 however we are able to adapt the assault to 3-4-3. We will use 4-2-3-1, it is dependent upon what gamers you’ve gotten. However I take advantage of wingers and never full-backs to assault. When you’ve gotten full backs, the opponent can dominate the sport. That’s simply my opinion. I’m positive the coaches who play 5 would disagree,” he says.
“My philosophy is the 4 Ps: Possession, place, press, notion. You want possession to win the sport. You want the nice positions. In the event you lose the ball you should press. And you should have the notion to know what’s going on round you, to know the sport. However I add yet one more P: ardour. With out ardour, you can’t play soccer. Casado, for Barcelona, may not be probably the most unimaginable participant, however he has a lot ardour that he can play for Barcelona.
“And I watch quite a bit. Once you relaxation — and I’m resting one 12 months – you should comply with what is occurring. You have to see what your colleagues are doing. What’s Pep doing and the way did he change a workforce that wasn’t profitable? He knew they weren’t in a superb second to press for 90 minutes so he tailored the workforce, Metropolis stopped urgent too excessive an excessive amount of.
“Luis Enrique is doing so nicely at PSG. He’s obsessed; everybody should run for the workforce. The PSG video games in opposition to Aston Villa have been superb and Unai Emery is doing nicely. This has been the perfect second for Spanish coaches. Iraola, Arteta, Xabi Alonso. Lopetegui was at West Ham, which was tough, however he’s an incredible coach. Generally the dynamic adjustments in opposition to you in soccer. I watched Jude Bellingham in a sport in opposition to Athletic Membership and he had three possibilities, however didn’t rating. The identical participant would have scored three objectives final season. It doesn’t make him a foul participant.”
Which gamers does he like watching? “Pedri. He doesn’t lose the ball. He makes the perfect choices every time when he has the ball,” says Xavi. “He at all times takes the most suitable choice. Frenkie (de Jong) is in a superb second, this man Vitinha. I at all times concentrate on midfielders. Bruno Fernandes is one other top-level participant. He’s a warrior, his mentality is simply to win. He has the expertise and the fervour. Him, Rashford, Fred, Lisandro and Antony performed so nicely once they performed my Barca workforce (in 2023). Within the first half of the second leg at Previous Trafford, we managed the sport just a little bit. However within the second half they have been superb. They performed with ardour. Fernandes was in opposition to me in the course of the sport – ardour.”
Xavi says Fernandes is “a warrior” (Picture: Carl Recine/Getty Pictures)
Which leagues does he comply with? “La Liga probably the most,” he says. “Then the Premier League. Not a lot the French league however generally I’ll watch PSG or Marseille, particularly Paris. Italy, I comply with Como as a result of I’ve a few mates there, Sergi Roberto and Cesc Fabregas. I’ve good mates in Saudi and Qatar so I comply with the leagues there. I watch quite a bit. I like soccer. I additionally comply with Panama as a result of my good friend is there. And generally the Indian League as a result of many Spanish coaches are there.”
Xavi is a soccer anorak, an obsessive. He actually as soon as requested me why Charlton Athletic’s stadium was known as The Valley.
“When Guardiola was our coach, we performed in opposition to Hospitalet (often a 3rd or fourth degree workforce) in a Copa del Rey match,” he recollects. “Within the workforce assembly, Guardiola mentioned: ‘Xavi can let you know about these gamers greater than me’. So I did. I began with David Prats, a superb striker, then I went by the workforce. That was as a result of I had mates there, but additionally as a result of after I was single, I used to observe all of the lower-league video games on TV3 in Catalonia.
“Even my mother and father watched with me, my brother too. That is our ardour, watching soccer. I’ll received to see my mother and father on a Sunday they usually’ll be watching Lleida v Terrassa on TV.
“My sister didn’t watch an excessive amount of, however she was a extremely good participant. She performed within the park with me and my mates. My sister had the perfect left foot, like Messi. The issue was that there have been no actual girls’s groups when she was youthful and now there are various.”
So would he wish to work once more in soccer?
“After all? The place, I don’t know,” says Xavi, who speaks Catalan, Spanish and English, which he conducts the interview in. “There’s no hurry for me however I’d like a superb mission. Like, ‘You’ve got 4 years to work and make a mission.’ I’d like to work within the Premier League as a result of I like the fervour there. In Spain, it’s an excessive amount of in regards to the end result.
“Look what has occurred to Ancelotti and other people criticising him. It’s not truthful. He received 30 trophies in 10 years and he’s criticized like he’s not received something. Valverde mentioned it completely when he mentioned: ‘If Ancelotti is criticized, what hope is there for the remainder of us?’
“However the stress in Spain is tough, particularly at Barça and Madrid.
“Chelsea with Maresca. Good mission. Arteta with Arsenal – it’s his sixth 12 months with Arsenal and there have been seasons when it was tough however his membership trusted the method and continued. He’s doing nicely. That doesn’t occur in Spain.
“Or a nationwide workforce, that might enchantment. After I dreamed about being a coach I dreamed about being in a World Cup or European Championship.”
What about Spain? “Why not sooner or later? Or one other one. I’m not anxious. I don’t have an obsession the place I must work. I’m calm watching soccer, being with my household.”
What was it wish to play in England? “I beloved enjoying with Barcelona and haven’t any regrets, however I might have beloved to play in a special European league too,” he says. “The Premier, Italy. The Premier League is pure soccer. Folks respect the career. Respect the coaches, the gamers – in the event you put every little thing on the pitch.
“I beloved to play at Anfield or Previous Trafford. The ambiance. It’s the roar when their workforce assaults. And I performed at Celtic many instances. Unimaginable.”
Who do you be in contact with from if you performed? “I’m mates with so many and in contact with them. Cocu, Iniesta, Kluivert, Figo, Casillas, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho. I performed with so many.”
What does this picture imply to you? “I noticed it on Instagram. It means to me: ‘That is Barça’. We take into consideration soccer in the identical method. The principle motive we’re coaches is as a result of we perceive soccer. We really feel that we may help the gamers. The very first thing I say to gamers is that ‘I’m right here that will help you’. As a result of I received lots of assist after I was a participant,” he says.
Guardiola, Arteta and Xavi 🥶 pic.twitter.com/nUCjRiFwjp
— 90s Soccer (@90sfootball) February 13, 2025
“However you want time. Even now, Barcelona is in development. I used to be criticised after I mentioned that after I was coach, however Lamine in 17. Cubarsi is eighteen. Pedri is 22, Gavi 20, Balde 21. However in the event you don’t win one thing for a season then folks panic.
“I do know Manchester United has a tough 12 months however I can see what Ruben Amorim is making an attempt to do. He’s firstly of his mission however I see one factor, that the gamers are combating for him. And that’s so necessary. They run for the workforce. Simeone – whether or not you want his model or not, his gamers will run and combat for him. He has a workforce. And if in case you have a workforce you’ve gotten an opportunity.”
What’s it like developing in opposition to these coaches? “Valverde is calm. I’m calm however after I really feel it’s not truthful — a participant not doing what we mentioned or the choice of the referee, I get indignant. Even at half time, I can destroy issues,” he admits.
“Ancelotti. Calm, however he complains! He’s a gentleman. Marcelino; calm. Imanol; respect. Unai Emery can not cease. Filled with ardour. The identical as Luis Enrique. I’ve big respect for them.
“I’m proud that as Barcelona coach we performed in opposition to the perfect coaches. I didn’t play in opposition to Guardiola, other than one pleasant. Usually after the sport I spoke to the coaches. It’s relaxed however the coaches let you know how they’re struggling. Many coaches undergo. I’m able to undergo once more however I don’t assume I’ll undergo any greater than I suffered at Barça.
“It was too emotional for me as a result of I used to be a supporter too. It’s totally different for Hansi. He’s not talking Spanish; he’s not a Barcelona supporter. I mentioned to him: ‘Don’t comply with something within the media or you’ll go loopy. Simply think about the workforce as a result of if you’re from right here you undergo quite a bit’.
“You are feeling your vitality happening since you and your loved ones are from right here. If we go someplace else, I mentioned to my workers: ‘We’ll win with dedication and keenness’.”
And the fervour for soccer bursts out, the video games, the trivia, the previous, the long run. He desires to study increasingly so we ask him extra. Like the place do Everton play?
“I used to be going to say Elland Highway, however that’s Leeds United. I used to comply with Leeds too due to Marcelo Bielsa and Ivan Torres, my health coach, was there, however I’ve not adopted. I’ve not received time to comply with the Championship a lot.
“Everton. Everton. (Lengthy pause). Everton?”
For the primary time, Xavi Hernandez is caught with regards to soccer. However not for lengthy … “Goodison Park!”
(Prime picture: design by Eamonn Dalton for The Athletic; picture by way of Andy Mitten)
