‘Xavi is a mixture of Guardiola and Luis Enrique’-Barcelona defender Eric Garcia talks about how Xavi sets up his team

Eric Garcia, the center defender for Barcelona, has suggested that his team’s manager, Xavi Hernandez, is a hybrid of Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola and Spain head coach Luis Enrique. 

Barcelona has gotten off to a good start in the 2022-23 season thanks in large part to Xavi, who was given the position of head coach of Barcelona in November of the previous year. He has led his team to a perfect start in La Liga play, and the Catalan giants now hold the first spot in the standings with 22 points after eight matches played.

Xavi took over as manager of the club after Ronald Koeman resigned with the team struggling in the ninth position in the La Liga standings. He led the team to a solid second-place finish last season

Garcia, in an interview with Esport3, discussed his opinions on Xavi’s tactical set-up and compared his playing style to those of Guardiola and Enrique. 

He said: “Xavi is a mixture of Guardiola and Luis Enrique. In the end, the idea of the game that the three have is practically identical. Each one has his nuances, but basically, it is about pressing after a loss and the release of the ball. It is what has always characterized Barça.”

During his time as a player, Xavi appeared in 767 games for Barcelona, during which the team won 25 championships. During their respective tenures at Camp Nou, Guardiola and Enrique shaped him not just as a player but also as a potential future manager.

The Spaniard won the FIFA World Cup in 2010, and in 2019, he began his coaching career with Al Sadd, who compete in the Qatar Stars League. During his time with the Doha-based club, which lasted for two and a half years, he was instrumental in the team’s collection of seven individual titles.

In the meantime, Barcelona is presently facing the possibility of being eliminated from the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2022-2023. After suffering a disputed defeat by the score of 1-0 at the San Siro a week ago, the team is getting ready to face Inter Milan at Camp Nou on Wednesday (October 12).