“Only Pep Compares to You” – Thierry Henry Defends Xavi Drawing Parallels Between Manchester City & FC Barcelona Bosses

FC Barcelona and Xavi had another disappointing European night. After a measured performance against Napoli until the 75th minute, they conceded a late equalizer and ended up drawing the game. Hence, the Barcelona boss is facing plenty of flak from all corners. But, jumping to his aid is former teammate Thierry Henry.

Thierry Henry said, “Hey Xavi, my friend. I don’t care what people say. I’m impressed with your work at Barça. You won the league and you taught me a lot in football.” Moreover, Henry went one step ahead and compared Xavi with one of soccer’s finest managers, Pep Guardiola.

Henry added, “Your brain, for me, is second to none. In terms of how you seen the game, only Pep compares to you.” Just like Pep, Xavi in his playing career made a name for himself as one of the best readers of the game. However, he hasn’t been able to translate that tactical acumen into managerial success like the Man City boss.

And Wednesday’s game was the latest example of another misfire in Europe. Barcelona took the lead through Robert Lewandowski in the 60th minute. But Napoli equalized through Victor Osimhen in the next 15 minutes. What’s truly damning is that even in possession dominance stats, which is bread & butter for Barcelona, Napoli nearly matched them with 49% of the possession. Not what you would want against the 9th-placed team in Serie A.

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Xavi on his part has called time on his managerial spell at Barcelona. His coaching skills haven’t convinced everyone with one soccer expert saying, “I doubt he actually will get another job.” Yet a former manager believes it is the team that is letting him down with a prominent name being called out.

Robert Lewandoski is ‘failing’ Xavi per Fabio Capello

With 18 goals in the season, you wouldn’t expect Robert Lewandoski to be labeled as a manager’s problem. However, that’s what Fabio Capello believes. The Italian manager said, “Lewandowski is failing him[Xavi] a little bit, he is not the same as last year, and that is important. Xavi’s main problem at Barcelona is that he is missing Lewandowski, who is not playing at the level we know him to be at.”

Last season, Lewandoski scored 33 goals. Hence, while his level has indeed dropped off, Barcelona has other significant issues as well. The duo of Ferran Torres & Joao Felix together have managed only 18 goals in all competitions. This is without even considering the various injury issues that have impacted the Spanish giants like Gavi’s ACL setback. Hence, labeling Lewandoski as ‘failing’ Xavi doesn’t seem to paint the full picture.

Do you agree with Thierry Henry putting Xavi up with Pep Guardiola? Tell us in the comments below.

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