Xavi recently gave a detailed interview to Indian podcaster Prahar Gupte. In the fifth part of this exclusive interview, Xavi discussed topics such as "tiki-taka is not an internal term," his positional change on the pitch, the conflict between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Guardiola, the 2009 treble, and the 2011 Champions League final.

Interesting. So the term "tiki-taka" was often discussed in the dressing room back then? For example, with an emphasis on one-touch passes and quick forward movement?

No, "tiki-taka" was more of a media narrative. What we discussed inside the team was about passes, ball control, passes to your stronger foot. "The pass should be strong enough, go to your right foot, receive cleanly, and look up to assess the situation." That was our main philosophy. And also "rondo." Every training session always started with rondo—7v2, 6v2. Mistakes and losing possession were absolutely unacceptable. Whoever lost the ball went to the middle to win it back. That was our core logic.

So your role in that team was to find free space and deliver incisive passes. You were the central figure—not a defensive midfielder, but a midfield maestro controlling the game, maintaining possession, and driving it forward. Your instinct was to see all the space on the pitch.

Exactly, and the killer pass, especially the final ball at the edge of the box. Because early in my career, my position was more defensive. But then Rijkaard enlightened me: "No, Xavi, you absolutely have the qualities to play as an 8 or even a 10, to deliver the final pass and play a more decisive role in the attacking third." At first, I even resisted a bit. I told Rijkaard: "Frank, I'm not used to this position. I like playing deeper, controlling the entire pitch." He said: "No, Xavi, you need to control the game and deliver the final pass. Receive cleanly, make penetrating passes, and make late runs into the box." That shift forward completely changed my life and career.

Was Zlatan Ibrahimovic there before or during this period?

Zlatan was with the team for just one year, the 2009-10 season. We won the Spanish Super Cup and La Liga, but couldn't hold on to the Champions League. We were eliminated by Inter in the semifinals.

Then Inter beat Bayern in the final.

Yes, at the Bernabéu.

Yes, 2-0, Milito scored twice.

You really know your football!

Fairly well. (Laughs) I remember watching that match. What exactly happened with Zlatan at Barcelona? Because he seemed out of place back then, and afterwards he made quite a few sarcastic comments.

As for Zlatan, we actually had very good relations in the dressing room. The real problem was between him and Pep. Pep relied heavily on Zlatan for most of the season, but in the final three months, he benched him in several crucial matches and played Bojan instead. That's when the friction started. Then Guardiola suddenly made it clear to him: "You're no longer in my plans; you need to find another club." That's roughly how it happened.

But Zlatan is a very strong personality, isn't he? Was he like that in the dressing room?

I really liked Zlatan. Yes. I liked him because he's incredibly funny and witty. He never stopped talking during training, constantly joking and making everyone laugh. We were very close. Now he's returned to Milan, works in Milan's management, and we still keep in touch. The conflict absolutely did not happen inside the dressing room, not at all.

Tactical incompatibility?

Yes. I have great memories of Zlatan in the dressing room; he was always joking around. Sometimes his thought process was a bit chaotic, but that's just Zlatan, you know.

His goal-scoring methods were also incredible because with him, you never know what extraordinary technique he'll use to strike the ball or where it will end up.

Absolutely. Sometimes he was pure genius. Everyone would exclaim: "My God, how did he score that goal! Incredible!" But sometimes he'd inexplicably mess up a simple pass; his form fluctuated greatly. But his talent was absolutely world-class. Two meters tall, with such flexibility and ball control—an extraordinarily gifted superstar.

In 2009 you won every possible trophy. An unprecedented treble. Yes. Man, do you still wonder when you look back? It was just...

To this day I consider it the peak year of my career. I was 28, 29 years old, at that golden age of complete maturity both psychologically and in experience. In my view, 28-31, 32 is the golden peak age for playing football. From my personal experience as a player, I got enormous enjoyment from playing on the pitch. We won every possible trophy, with the national team, with Barcelona—everything went smoothly. Everyone remembers how David Villa later joined us, and we lifted the Champions League trophy again at Wembley in 2011. That was one of the most perfect matches I've ever played in my career. That final against Manchester United was a masterpiece. Even as the match ended, we felt the final victory was surprisingly easy. The outside world initially thought it would be a tough battle, but we controlled the game throughout. We had great respect for Manchester United, but that evening our performance was truly far superior to theirs. I clearly remember Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney, and Ferdinand's comments after the match, acknowledging: "This is the strongest team we've ever faced, truly at the peak of the world."

Sir Alex Ferguson was completely overwhelmed that day because he witnessed cross-field dominance—a team with an extremely solid foundation built by a coach who had nurtured it for over a decade. Manchester United were incredibly strong at that time, but they were completely dominated by us in every aspect, which was truly remarkable.

To be honest, that day we were truly unstoppable. Our tactical system and football philosophy showed decisive superiority. Of course, there was also the individual brilliance of superstars like Messi and Villa in attack. But the core was still the tactical concept. We controlled possession, and by pushing Messi back as a false nine, we firmly established numerical superiority in midfield. The opposing center-backs didn't dare follow him easily, allowing us to calmly pass and circulate the ball in midfield, opening up space. We could have scored even more goals. At that moment, we truly dominated our opponents completely.

Переведено ИИ.

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