Xavi recently sat down for a detailed interview with Prakar Gupta, an Indian podcaster. In the fourth part of this exclusive interview, Xavi discussed comparisons between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Pep Guardiola's tactical philosophy during the Dream Team era.

What happened to Ronaldinho later in his career? Did something go wrong in his later years? Too many parties?

I think the main issue was mental. He won everything—La Liga, the Champions League, the Ballon d'Or—and after that, he felt "that's enough."

My mission is accomplished.

When comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho's mentality was "I've completed my work," but Lionel Messi is constantly driven to win more and continuously surpass himself. It's not just about parties—it's a difference in mentality. This happened to many players, including Neymar. Neymar had a wonderful time at Barcelona, we won the Champions League, but then he joined Paris Saint-Germain. When you lose that extreme competitive drive, your performance drops and you're not the player you once were. But this never happened to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. They're like two relentless beasts.

They compete with each other every year.

They elevate each other every year, scoring countless goals and constantly competing against one another.

Which of the two is better?

That's not a good question. I have tremendous respect for Cristiano Ronaldo. He's one of the greatest players of all time, but Lionel Messi is the greatest. Because Lionel Messi has a deep understanding of the entire game of football. Cristiano Ronaldo is a world-class super striker, but he doesn't focus on teamwork or tactical awareness on the pitch—he concentrates solely on goals, goals, goals. His mental strength is incredible, he's like a Hulk-like beast. But Lionel Messi is not just a super striker. He's a master orchestrator. Lionel Messi can play as number 6, 8, or 10 because he sees everything happening on the pitch, constantly observes spaces and free players, and knows where to start attacks. He goes far beyond being just a top striker.

As a fan, around age 12 or 13, when Pep's era was just beginning, we watched Barcelona matches with such confidence. "Don't worry, Xavi will pass to Iniesta or Messi soon, and we'll definitely score." The entire team functioned like a perfectly calibrated machine, constantly breaking scoring records, every pass was perfectly accurate, and Messi's dribbling was like magic.

I understand that feeling very well because I felt exactly the same on the pitch. For example, even if the opponent scored first at Camp Nou, we remained very calm because we knew the team could either mount a counterattack or score through individual brilliance. Before that, we had Henry and Eto'o, and later especially Messi, Pedro, and others. Beyond having the greatest individual talent, we had a very clear system and philosophy, which made it extremely difficult for opponents to take the ball from us. Alves, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Villa, Messi—the six or seven top players on the pitch rarely lost possession. We always dominated matches, maintaining 75 or 80 percent possession, with the entire team pressing high and immediately winning the ball back after losing it. That was the most enjoyable period of my career. I touched the ball over 100 times per match. It was painful for our opponents, but we thought "we don't want the match to end." We genuinely enjoyed those 3-0 and 4-0 victories. For me, it was a very special time.

Was all of this because Pep Guardiola was such a unique coach? What made him so unique? He's very passionate and always full of energy, but where does this magic really come from?

His passion is one aspect, but more importantly, he's a tactical genius. Technically and tactically, he could determine the outcome of matches on the pitch. He's an absolute football obsessive, locked away in his office day and night, tirelessly studying match footage. At the same time, before matches he would confidently tell me: "Today, on the pitch, this is what will happen. Xavi, you stand in this position. Don't wander around, don't aggressively press for the ball, just stay here. The ball will definitely come to you, so don't rush. The ball will move around, and when that pass comes, you'll have absolute space, so watch for it."

And on the pitch, I maintained my position. The ball went to Alves' feet, Alves smoothly passed to me, and indeed there was plenty of space around me—I was completely unmarked! Because he understood every detail of our opponents. He knew us inside and out, had an uncanny insight into the opposition, and precisely calculated how we should attack and defend. The scenarios he predicted in tactical sessions always unfolded exactly as he said on the pitch. I vividly remember pre-match tactical meetings. He would tell the players, "Everyone, the match will go like this. Today there's no space here, but there is space there." And when the whistle blew, it was exactly as he said! Incredible. That's what made him exceptional. He was a genius madman. He's one of the greatest coaches of the past 20 years and arguably the strongest.

Yes, I think the quality and quantity of his trophies are also top-tier. Probably only Sir Alex Ferguson and Mourinho would be in the discussion, that's about it.

And before him, there was Cruyff, and Carlo Ancelotti, but Pep is different. He's very special. He remains unique. He's incredibly talented.

Could you specifically recreate one of Pep's tactical sessions and explain how you were perfectly integrated into that system? Let's go back in time to the 2008-09 season, Barcelona's golden era. Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Busquets, Pedro…what were Pep's tactical sessions specifically like? What was your role within them?

You probably know about the positioning principles. Pep was absolutely strict. He was almost obsessive about disciplined positioning. "If Busquets is in this spot, don't run around trying to win the ball back. Don't go there. Busquets is positioned, so you must respect positional discipline. Iniesta is here, Messi is there." And Messi would drop back at the right moment, creating a numerical advantage in midfield. This way, we always had one more player than the opponent in the midfield area. The midfield could instantly become 4v2 or 4v3. After that, the rest was up to you. You had the technique, the ability to read the game, and could circulate the ball with that extra midfielder.

And the forwards also had to maintain strict positional discipline. Imagine Pedro, Villa, Henry, and Eto'o. Their task was to constantly attack the deep spaces. The moment my midfield teammate had the ball and drove toward the opponent's goal, the forwards immediately ran into the space behind the defense. This is my football philosophy. I always want one extra player in midfield. In my understanding of football, the game is controlled through midfield. Football belongs to the midfield! This is my belief as a coach and as a player. Because if you establish numerical and technical superiority in midfield, you can completely dominate the entire game.

AI翻訳。

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