Is Xavi really just an "average" player?

well, he looks like an average player but he really isn't,,,,,,

The Video link included in the question proves that_____

Hmmm..........

Xavi is far from an average player.His might not have pace in is play but his vision,ball control and passing definitely makes amends for the lack of pace.If he was an average player,he would not have won all the competitions with Barcelona and Spain national football team

Ok he is very one dimensional. However he is very very good at distributing the ball and controlling the field of play which make him world class. But he he wouldn't fit into many other teams systems, the team really has to play to his game. This is why he didn't really get a space in the starting team until around 2007.

I still rate Paul Scholes higher than Xavi. To me Scholes is just so much more complete, even Zidane and Xavi himself said Scholes was the best central midfielder of the past decade.

Therefore he is not average but he is very specialised to a specific style of play which make him world class in that team!

No, Xavi is a great player .. He is ONE of the best midfielders of all time ( not 'THE' greatest midfielder ever ) .. However, in his position ( deep-lying CM play maker ), he is probably the best ..

I'm in no way saying Xavi is a better technical player than Zidane but in his style of playing, no player EXCEEDS Xavi ..

I even posted a question why it's unfair comparing players of two different playing styles : http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ah... ..

@Saint Iker: Nice to see you changing your views on Xavi because I remember not that long ago, you DID call Xavi average ( or did you call him 'below average' ) .. It was the question where Xavi's skills were rated .. I objected to you giving a rating of ball-control of what, 7/10 .. I said it should have been more like 9/10 .. Do I have the link to that question ?? .. NO, because I tend to delete my answers ( for a wide variety of reasons ) .. I think Midfield Maestro remembers that question ..

Xavi will not have been THAT successful had he played at another club but he would still be considered a good player .. We wouldn't know, we can only speculate; he has played at Barca his entire career ..

Xavi is ONE of the best midfielders ever and probably THE best in his playing style ..

Edit: @Saint Iker: Yeah, well, that was not the question I was referring to .. Midfield Maestro should probably have that .. The one where you called Xavi an average player for Barca before Pep and a below average player for any other team .. The question where Xavi's attributes were measured .. You had given Xavi some not so flattering ratings and I had objected to that ( like I had mentioned earlier ) ..

It was posted probably not more than 4 months back ..

Here's the link BTW: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al... ..

Key words: 'Put Xavi in any other team he would be rubbish', 'other teams he would fail miserably' ..

Other than Xavi's ratings and the definition of 'ball-control', we had little debate in that question, I assure you folks ( lol ) ..

He's not average but he's not the greatest midfielder of all time. He's a team player. Individually he doesn't compare to players like Zidane, Ronaldinho etc. Xavi would be extremely less effective in any other team, he would still be a very good player but no where near as effective as he is now. Put players like Zidane and Ronaldinho in any team and they would be superb.

Xavi relies on possession to make his 130+ passes. What if he played in a team like Inter where they relied on counter attack? Don't make 500+ passes a game as a team? He wouldn't be useful. What about a team that has 40%-60% possession or less? It would seriously affect his passing & possession statistics. Any team, which is every team, that doesn't play Tiki-Taka would have negative effects on Xavi.

Xavi's best attributes are passing & vision, now what team and what system would make Xavi attributes the most useful? Maybe a team that has, constantly, 70%-80% possession? Maybe a team that plays Tiki-Taka? Maybe a team that patiently, as Xavi is not fast, to break down their opposition with hundreds of passes? A team that has so much time on the ball which allows Xavi so much time on the ball it allows him to make 130+ passes and to look up and see runs of the forwards which the other team are sitting back?

This is easy to see ladies, it doesn't take a genius that Barcelona has made Xavi what he is today and not the other way around. True greats like Platini, Zidane & Ronaldinho etc would step into any team, any formation, any tactic, any philosophy and showcase their great talent. Xavi on the other hand needs certain circumstances, he needs possession, he needs the ball for a large amount of time.

Great player? Of course? One of the best? No doubt but does he compare to the legends of the middle? Not in my book, you lot can watch youtube videos all you like but when Barcelona was average was Xavi talked about much then? Or was it only when this Barca team are known was one of the greatest ''teams'' ever? Because Zidance and Ronaldinho were always talked about, and never in teams that were considered the greatest ever....

@New Zlatan I haven't changed my opinion, compared to true greats he is average as he needs the team to play his way. I said the same 6 months ago to your question that you said ''wonderful response''

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag...

And I'm not comparing Xavi's abilities to Zidane etc but his potential, these players don't need the team to play a certain way to be great. Xavi does. I'm not talking about putting Xavi with rubbish players but even if you put him in Inter, he would be seriously affected whereas players like Zidane, Messi, Iniesta wouldn't, certainly not as much as Xavi would.

and Varane is the best defender ever , as good as ramos and somehow ramos became an example of good defender

just typical Madrid fans

He is not average and he is not the best midfielder ever(as barcelona fans believe)

the most biased opinions and mostly stupid ones

Lol @ Iker..... nice to see you changing your opinion about Xavi, few months ago you said he was "average".

Put Xavi in another team and he wouldn't be as successful ? neither would Messi or Iniesta, every player needs quality players around him, the best example being Messi who gets criticized for underperforming when he plays for Argentina ( I still think he does well for Argentina ), no one can single handedly influence a game and win for his team so this " put Xavi in another team " argument is quite laughable.

And why are you comparing Xavi with Zidane or Ronaldinho ? they were attacking players while Xavi is a central midfielder whose job is to feed the strikers with his passing.

Do you think Zidane or Ronaldinho could come to Barcelona and dominate games like Xavi does ? control the pace of the game ? average 130+ passes in every game ? are you saying anyone can come and replace him since he's not that special ?

And how do you know Xavi would struggle in another team ? he hasn't played for any other team, we don't know about that.

for example, Casillas never player for another team, what if i say he would struggle at Blackburn and concede 5 goals a game ? It is laughable, isn't it...

You said he wouldn't be effective if he played for Inter ( counter-attacking team with less possession ) ? one could say he'll be effective in that team as welll since his vision and passing are exceptional, he could possibly average 2 assists a game and then defend for his life... but thats not reality, it is all about guessing, you and i both don't know if Xavi will be effective in another team or not.

xavi helps Barca a lot!

he helps messi most of the time thn the other player in barca!

He is a best midfielder of world

Not.he is greater player.