The world of football is always evolving, and Barcelona has to catch up to that speed. La Blaugrana know about the demands of the sport, and how they must continue to remain relevant. However, certain measures taken by Barcelona seem to vary from coach to coach.
One tactical liberty that Xavi has taken this season is the use of alternative options as the pivot. While many midfielders failed to live up to his expectations, one name has managed to do exactly what Xavi had hoped he would accomplish.
Andreas Christensen, primarily a defender, was the one that Xavi entrusted as his experimental pivot. As games have gone by, it seems that the experiment ended up being exactly what Barcelona needed. However, it was more than just the change on paper that enabled this.
As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, it was through the help of Xavi’s insistence on video footage usage that Christensen is able to perform as he is doing. The current coach makes use of these videos to enable his team to understand their rights and their wrongs simultaneously.
In Christensen’s case, Xavi has spent quite some time alongside his coaching staff trying to get him to get a grasp on what Barça needs from him. Through the use of past footage from the gameplay of Sergio Busquets, Xavi was able to help Christensen improve his sense as a pivot.
Since the departure of the last treble-winning manager at Barcelona, Luis Enrique, Xavi is the first Barça coach to make use of video footage and analysis as much as he does. Ousmane Dembele, another one of Xavi’s great students, also benefited a lot from these videos as per the report.
These sessions also involve the rest of the team as well. Apart from just his individual sessions, Xavi helps his players understand their good parts from previous outings, while also correcting the mistakes they make. That is the first part of these sessions, as the second typically focuses on understanding upcoming opponents.
