Xavi: Barcelona manager discusses Guardiola’s ‘third man’ tactics in coaching masterclass video

Xavi Hernandez is admired by many Barcelona fans as one of the club’s greatest midfielders.

But he’s now embarking on a new challenge as the manager of the Catalan club.

It’s been a tough few seasons both on and off the pitch for the Blaugrana, with the side failing to meet expectations under former manager Ronald Koeman.

Choosing to sack the Dutchman after just 14 months in charge, they turned to their roots and hired Xavi as their head coach at the start of the 2021/22 season.

And it was a very popular appointment amongst the Barcelona faithful, with the ex-player being someone who clearly understands the values and ethos of the club.

The 41-year-old, who joined La Masia when he was 11 years old, went on to make 767 appearances for Barcelona, winning 25 major honours which includes an impressive eight league titles and four Champions League trophies.

It’s safe to say he was a fantastic player back in the day but will now embark on a new chapter in his footballing journey, hoping to guide his team back to winning ways.

Throughout his career, the midfielder was known as the ‘Puppet Master’ for his insane ability to control matches with his composure, creativity and elite knowledge of the game.

And Xavi has now given us an insight into what goes on in his footballing brain, explaining in a coaching masterclass video how he evolved tactically as a player, how Barcelona’s famous third man concept works and how managers like Pep Guardiola have used that system to their advantage.

The eye-opening footage, posted by The Coaches’ Voice, also shows Xavi also admitting that he would have never been the same player without the influence of former coaches like Inaki Saez, Frank Rijkaard and Guardiola pushing him higher up