Maybe Messi isn’t the world’s best afterall

 
Davidde Corran Columnist

By , 13 Apr 2010 Davidde Corran is a Roar Expert

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Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, left, duels for the ball with Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez. AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, left, duels for the ball with Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez. AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza

When Real Madrid hosted Barcelona on Saturday night at the Santiago Bernabéu, arguably the world’s best player put on another clinic of footballing excellence. However, unlike Messi, he didn’t score and he isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo. According to The Guardian, “the architect of Barcelona’s victory was the peerless Xavi Hernandez”.

The man Pep Guardiola, while he was still playing for the Blaugrana, admitted would “retire him”.

On Saturday night, Xavi created both goals, set up two other gilt edge chances, and drove the Barcelona engine room mercilessly forward.

While Messi has made the extraordinary the standard, Xavi has made perfection normal and his performance against Real Madrid was just another example.

For example, against Arsenal in the recent UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi misplaced just 15 of his 244 passes across both legs. That’s more completed passes then any Arsenal player.

In fact, you can add together the completed passes over both legs from Diaby, Fabregas, Denilson and Nasri (203 passes) and it still doesn’t match the Spaniard’s tally.

It all makes The Daily Mail’s headline from January 2009, “The best players of the world (and Xavi): Ronaldo crowned king of football”, all the more ridiculous.

Though at the same time, that headline is also symptomatic of an under-appreciation of midfield maestros.

On Friday, Barcelona right back Dani Alves lamented that the players on the World Player of the Year shortlist “are always the same – they are the attackers”.

While the Brazilian was making the point that defenders need more credit, the same can be said for players like Xabi and it’s often not until they’re gone that we fully appreciate them.

Take Xabi Alonso’s time at Liverpool, for example. His early balls would release Gerrard and allowed his relationship with the lethal Frenando Torres to blossom.

It was only once Alonso had left, and as scorn was heaped onto his “replacement” Lucas, that many realised just how good Alonso had been.

Similarly, I have a suspicion that when Xavi eventually retires, we will realise just how important, and great, he was.

So in the meantime, do yourself a favour: next time you watch Barcelona play, track Xavi throughout the whole game. Enjoy his subtle one-twos as they suck defenders in, his 40 yard cross field passes and his extraordinary ability to keep possession.

Then you’ll see what I’m talking about.

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