Xavi: I don't have the absolute truth, but I think playing well means having the ball Qatar Interview with the former Barcelona midfielder

Xavi Hernandez knows that his career as a player is nearing an end, but he still thinks intensely about the way football should be played.

He sat down in the Torch Hotel, close to his home and the Al Sadd training ground, for an interview on this subject and on much more.

Calm, collected and ready to discuss football, the 38-year-old spoke exclusively to MARCA and reflected on how he experiences football.

Do you think equality in LaLiga this season is fictitious?

"No, it's very difficult to win. The level of coaches, ever since Pep [Guardiola] appeared, has grown a lot in Spain. They are very prepared. The other day I watched Espanyol vs Real Betis and it was a great game, because both coaches [Rubi and Quique Setien] wanted to win. It was fantastic. But I see it all, even those games where nobody wants the ball and it's all about seeing who slips up. Football is always great."

It is more and more difficult to create chances. We saw that in the World Cup.

"In a World Cup coaches are more practical because of the fear of being knocked out. One mistake and goodbye. And I understand them. I am from another school, of having the ball and taking risks, but 70 to 80 percent don't take risks at the World Cup and wait for the chance to score. It's a shame. The results give you justification to convince people. Not me, though. France only showed me that they are the champions. They were an organised team, not very eye-catching, but with many qualities. They work hard, they're resistant to the counter and you see [Antoine] Griezmann and [Kylian] Mbappe running back... Well, it doesn't excite me. Even so, you learn from everything."

Following your style, who plays good football nowadays?

"I don't have the absolute truth, I only defend one style. Playing well, for me, is having the ball. When I go to the pitch, I don't want my rival to teach me a lesson. I suffer if I don't have the ball. Playing well is linking 20 or 30 passes to find spaces or a free man. For another coach, playing well is to be tight, to deny spaces and go on the counter attack. Everything is respectable in football."

Who plays well?

"[Maurizio] Sarri's Chelsea play well, even if not always. I like to see them for their assertiveness on the ball. Also Betis, [Unai] Emery's Arsenal, Barcelona, Luis Enrique's Spain and [Mauricio] Pochettino's Tottenham. That's without talking about Guardiola. who is the number one for this. He's my reference as a coach."

What do you like the most about Manchester City now?

"That players who never stood out before do so with Pep. Fernandinho, for example, now sees good passes. The defenders, [Nicolas] Otamendi, [John] Stones, [Aymeric] Laporte. You see them and say, 'you can tell that Pep has given them tools for their development'."

How do Real Madrid play, in your opinion?

"They play in a different way, but they've won the last three Champions League titles. When they don't have the ball, not all of the team has a big responsibility, they look more to individual talent without such a collective attitude. It's a game, without saying so critically [only talking in conceptual terms], which is more disorganised. It's more 'you attack, and I attack you'. Normally, they win because of their quality."

Do you see differences between Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari?

"I think that Lopetegui wanted to give a lot of order to Real Madrid, which they haven't done in 15 or 20 years, without any absolute order. He is very methodical, his teams work in lines, pressing high, and Real Madrid didn't adapt. They didn't give him time."

Was it a shame that he left so early?

"I was very critical of the timing that he chose to leave Spain's national team. He should have waited until the World Cup was over, I didn't understand it. You are demanding concentration from your players and you announce that you are going to a club. It was a mistake, I think. But it is always a shame when a coach is fired. He didn't have time, like others. The Huesca coach [Leo Franco], for example. They'd just been promoted and he got fired in October! It leaves a bad taste in the mouth for me. I will be exposed to this. In the coaching courses they tell you: 'Your name is Xavi, but, if you lose, you will be unemployed in 0.1 seconds'."

And about Lionel Messi, what can you tell us?

"What more is there to say about Leo? He's stratospheric, I'd give him the Ballon d'Or every year."

Do you think that, in their play, Barcelona have lost some of the essence of the past?

"I don't think so. Barcelona always want the ball. And to press high. They've never lost that essence, not even with Tata Martino when they didn't win anything. There are nuances. Luis Enrique, for example, also liked quick transitions, which we almost never worked on with Guardiola. [Ernesto] Valverde is more practical with a 4-4-2, more organised under pressure. They are nuances within the essence. And Arthur has reinforced that, the boy doesn't lose the ball."

But he rarely gambles.

"That happened to me too. When I was 20 or 21 years old I didn't take many risks. I didn't break lines as often. It's a matter of confidence. He will have it."

Talking about styles, what do you think a chat with Diego Simeone would offer you?

"It would be very productive, I'm sure. Whether I like his style or not. It's one that I don't share, but there is a clear fact and that's that his players go like rockets. He manages the group excellently, he has them very motivated. I will also say that neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid, especially the first, can play that way. At Barcelona, it wouldn't be understood if a Simeone came to their bench. It would be countercultural. [Johan] Cruyff showed us the way and it would break the mould. El Cholo is another style, still being an excellent coach."

People say that you can't enjoy Atletico games.

"You have to see where they came from and where they are now. But yes, I would play a different way and I will try to show that when I am a coach. But in football, there is room for everything. I think that what is easy [not referring to Atletico] is destroying, not creating. It's easy to clear danger. What's difficult is combining, proposing play, passing. But what is most beautiful is the end is enjoying winning and being dominant over a rival with the ball."

Do you like Rodrigo Hernandez?

"He's a superb player, and he would be even better in a style like Barcelona's. He has both things, he is so good that he can play for Atletico, taking the ball, pressing and closing down spaces. He has the Barcelona profile, I see him as top class, like Busi [Sergio Busquets]. He lifts his heads up. Uff, he's great. I think Barcelona should have signed him."

Real Madrid don't have anyone with this profile. Marcos Llorente, maybe?

"I have been watching him since the great year he had at Alaves. But I think he is more like Real Madrid's profile, more like going to the wing, more like Casemiro, not so positional. There are players I watch and think 'this one is for Barrcelona, the other more for Real Madrid'. For example, how is it possible that [Santi] Cazorla or [David] Silva haven't played for Barcelona? They would have been great. [Luka] Modric has both profiles too, like Rodri. He drifts, but can also be a bulldozer. He is almost the best in his position currently."

Are you surprised by the post-Cristiano Ronaldo crisis at Real Madrid?

"Yes. I thought that Real Madrid, without Cristiano Ronaldo, were going to play better collectively. He offers you many individual things, like the 50 goals he scores, but I thought that Real Madrid would play very well without him. In fact, with Lopetegui, they had some games like that, against Roma or in Moscow. But they didn't give him time."

At Barcelona, you will see this too after Messi...

"You'll note something, obviously. Messi isn't just a goalscorer, he's the playmaker, he gives the last passes, he almost defines the play of the team. When he hasn't been there because of injury, you could really tell. It's not the same. He breaks the lines, he splits defences, he dribbles and there is superiority in attack. Post-Messi you will have to anticipate it, taking care of the youth system and the footballers there are now [Philippe] Coutinho, [Ousmane] Dembele, Sergi Roberto, [Samuel] Umtiti] and [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen) will have to take a step up."

Can Barcelona fans feel frustrated seeing that Real Madrid have won four of the last five Champions League titles in the Messi era?

"No, because the Messi era isn't over, and if you look at it as a whole then it's spectacular. Without him, the club had one Champions League, with him now we have five. Messi's era has not been bad, but Real Madrid have kept up their history. Real, before Cristiano Ronaldo, had nine Champions League titles. But Messi has changed Barcelona history. Both have monopolised football in the last 15 years."

Do you like Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt?

"I like them a lot, they'd be very good for Barcelona. They don't lose the ball, they bring it out well. They already have the Barcelona DNA coming from Ajax, which has always been a good school for us. And they're young."

And Vinicius Junior?

"I don't know as much, but you see he has talent and self-confidence. He's like Neymar, you see him like a bomb, capable of the best... but he still has to mature. Neymar will learn. He's intelligent. Or [Kylian] Mbappe. But it's difficult to find successors to Messi and Ronaldo. I don't think that there are great players who dominate so much like those two. Who has scored 50 goals? Luis Suarez, for example, I think he's among the best No.9s in Barcelona history, but he 'only' gets to 30 goals, not 50. The Ballon d'Or awards will be shared out now. Mbappe has an incredible physique so much that he doesn't even need to do tricks. They hit it long and he always goes. Physically, he reminds me of Thierry Henry."

What did you say about Isco, which became controversial?

"Look, I don't have anything against him. I think he's a spectacular footballer. Do you know what happens? People who don't understand football or who aren't coaches don't understand what Isco does, or what [Andres] Iniesta did. He should be decisive, not in midfield to impress the fans. That's very good, but it's not productive. Isco is capable, like Iniesta, Silva, Modric... They are players who should be decisive. Isco should take a step ahead and it seemed like he had done it with Lopetegui in the national team, like against Italy. Isco should do it, with his talent, in many games like that. It's not enough with an 'ooooh' in midfield. It's enough with the 'ooooh' and an assist or a goal! They have to make the difference, like [Marco] Asensio or Coutinho."

Did the Spanish national team lose its compass?

"No, but it's very difficult to win. We had a bit of luck. I'm sure that in our era, we would have won on penalties against Russia. They were stopped and everyone looks back to the past. The Iniesta and the Xavi of 2006 were very heavily criticised too, like Asensio or Isco now, because we didn't win. The path is there, but winning is difficult. What was done was so historic... But we'll get back there."

Do you understand the controversy between Luis Enrique and Jordi Alba?

"Yes, I know both of them and I know that they have a lot of character. They had a little problem, but they've put it behind them. Jordi Alba is the best in his position. It was only a matter of time."

Luis Enrique seems sweeter.

"[Laughs] Really? Not as much as it seems. He is a very honest guy, he's very direct and he's a very well prepared coach with a lot of personality. His message gets there. He was ideal for the national team, for him and his staff, Robert Moreno, Rafel Pol and so on. They're very good."