FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez called Andres Iniesta the biggest talent he’s ever seen.
FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez called playing days teammate and former midfield partner Andres Iniesta “the greatest talent I’ve ever seen in Spanish football” ahead of the Blaugrana’s La Liga meeting with Athletic Club in Bilbao on Sunday.
Xavi was asked about ‘Don Andres’ given that the scorer of Spain’s winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands played his 1000th match befire the weekend when featuring in a 2-0 defeat for Emirates FC.
“Iniesta is the greatest talent I’ve ever seen in Spanish football. A thousands games is many. I admire him and I love him very much, he is a great friend,” Xavi said about his fellow La Masia graduate, who he also called “one of the best players in the history of football”.
While Iniesta is still playing, Xavi is of course well into his managerial career thus far defined by spells at Al-Sadd and the club of his life, Barca.
He has however announced that he will step down from the head coach role on June 30, and stressed on Saturday that his mind hasn’t changed on the matter despite the first team’s improvement in form.
“No, no. As of today nothing has changed. There is no issue. [We’re taking it] step by step and think about Athletic Club. There is nothing more,” Xavi stated.
“As of today, there is no change. Everything is the same,” he later reiterated, when again pushed to comment on the topic.
That being said, Xavi has noticed improvements in his side, who he sees as “more responsible, more competitive, [and] with more dynamism”.
“But we have to show it in every game,” Xavi demanded.
As for the task in hand in San Mames on Sunday night, Athletic Club is on a high given it reached the Copa del Rey final this week and knocked Barca out of the quarter-finals of the competition earlier this month.
Xavi wants his men to play “more vertical” than they did in the extra time loss and also wishes to see them “be more effective”.
“I think it was a good match. We have to dominate the game more,” he added.
