Xavi recently gave an in-depth interview to Indian podcaster Prahar Gupta. In the third part of this exclusive interview, Xavi discussed Real Madrid's "Galácticos," Barcelona's "Dream Team III," comparisons between two generations of Spain's national team, and how Ronaldinho transformed Barcelona's spirit and team mentality.

After Figo's transfer, Real Madrid assembled the first generation of "Galácticos." Their squad included Zidane, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, and Luis Figo. It was undoubtedly a very strong team, difficult to play against.

Exactly. I completely agree with you. They signed Beckham, Ronaldo, Zidane, and also had Roberto Carlos, Raúl, and Fernando Hierro. What a squad that was!

How could you possibly beat them?

It was an unsolvable super-team. It was too difficult to compete with them; they won the Champions League twice in three or four years. In football, there are always cycles, because that team established dominance not only in Spain but across all of Europe. Then, with Rijkaard's arrival, we rose again and won another Champions League trophy after Conan's winning goal. We signed excellent players like Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly, and others, starting a new project during Laporta's first term as president. Football continues to develop in cycles. Real Madrid was strong from 2000 to 2004, then we won everything under Rijkaard from 2004 to 2006; then we experienced a decline from 2006 to 2008, and then Pep took over the team. I think many witnessed the birth of, perhaps, the greatest team of all time. With all due respect, it was absolutely the greatest team in history. We played in a wonderful style, we had the best generation of players in Spanish football history, with Puyol, Iniesta, Valdés, Pique, Villa, Pedro, Busquets, and so on, and we also had Messi. We had Messi, as if the team had Michael Jordan, an all-powerful ace. We had a mature tactical philosophy and ideas, plus the greatest player in history. Imagine the dominance we established. From my current perspective, we should have won even more Champions Leagues back then.

There were several near-misses.

Yes, it was truly bad luck. In the Champions League, there were two particularly frustrating occasions—the semifinal against Chelsea and the semifinal against Inter. We should have won far, far more Champions League trophies. But in any case, whether on the street or elsewhere, everyone I meet still remembers: "Wow, that Barcelona team—Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Busquets." I was fortunate that everyone vividly remembers that style of football. It wasn't just about the wins, but how we achieved them. This is Barcelona, this is the Catalan mentality and philosophy, our core idea. We want people to enjoy our football. As a coach, that is also my main goal now—to pass on everything I learned from this football philosophy to the current players, to transmit this philosophy from generation to generation.

If the Spain national team that won the World Cup in 2010 played against the Spain national team that wins the World Cup in 2026, who would win if they met?

That's too difficult to answer.

It's not difficult at all; we all know the answer.

Everyone says the 2010 generation was better than the 2026 generation. Well, but the current Spain national team has Lamine Yamal, and the way Spain won the recent Euros was incredible overall. The team's high pressing, the defense built by Cubarsí, Laporte, Pedro Porro, and Cucurella, was exceptional. I'm very pleased with this generation of players, but it's difficult to directly compare the two teams. We had Iniesta, David Silva, Fàbregas, Busquets, Xabi Alonso—so many outstanding midfielders. The current Spain national team can control different phases of the game beautifully, with quick transitions from defense to attack, and attacking players like Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, and Oyarzabal, so the style is different. Our generation was perhaps technically superior.

I think your generation was more dominant in terms of possession, winning two European Championships and one World Cup in four years, which is an unprecedented achievement.

And you should know that it was Spain's first World Cup in history—everyone will remember it forever, because Spain had never won the World Cup before, often being eliminated in the quarterfinals. So everyone will always remember this generation for opening a chapter of victories.

Under Rijkaard, you established yourself as a central midfielder and developed significantly on the pitch. At that time, Ronaldinho was alongside you, a true superstar. Later there were rumors about his lifestyle, which gradually led to his departure from Barcelona's starting lineup.

As for Ronaldinho, I must say that, as we've already discussed, Johan Cruyff changed Barcelona's mentality in the 1970s. Ronaldinho, as a player, helped us tremendously during Rijkaard's tenure. He completely transformed our mindset. During daily training sessions before matches, everyone thought: as long as we have Ronaldinho, we're at least closer to winning; with Ronaldinho, we should win the league. He was the best player in the world at that time, completely restoring our confidence. I remember he always had his signature smile, he played samba football, and everyone at Barcelona was fired up with passion again. The whole world was talking about Ronaldinho playing for Barcelona. The mental shift he brought to the club is completely comparable to Johan Cruyff—I mean as a player.

He simply enjoyed himself on the pitch; he danced on the pitch.

I remember he would often say to me: "Xavi, come here, get closer to me, hurry up." Wow, it was like: "Okay, with Ronaldinho on the pitch, we've entered a new dimension of football." He transformed our spirit, and that's why we were able to win championships again. Of course, it wasn't just Ronaldinho; that generation of players was outstanding, with Puyol, Valdés, Iniesta, and later we signed Deco, Eto'o, Giuly, Rafa Márquez, and others. We built a great championship-winning team, and Ronaldinho played an irreplaceable role in changing our team's mentality.

Переведено ИИ.

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