Barcelona legend Xavi has spoken of his disappointment with Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone for adopting boring tactics when it comes to facing his former club.
The 38-year-old, who is winding down his playing career in Qatar, recently spoke of how exhausted he gets when sitting down to watch most teams play these days.
One club that frustrates him the most is Atleti, whom he feels symbolises this negativity better than anyone else, with manager Simeone coming under fire as Xavi feels he has convinced his team that in order to beat Barca they must play this way.
“I am bored by most football teams I watch, their play is too slow,” he told Catalunya Radio (via Football Espana).
“Many teams now set up with just one forward and do not want to play with the ball, it is the opposite of what I am used to and how I will coach any team.
“Football now is about closing down space and restricting the opposition, and you can see this more than anywhere with Simeone’s Atletico. They are really difficult to score against because they do not want the ball, they believe domination is controlling the spaces available to the opposition.
“He has convinced his players this is the only tactic they can used to compete with Barcelona and Madrid, but all the players believe it so that shows it has been a success.”
So which teams does Xavi enjoy watching?
As it turns out Xavi isn’t exactly disillusioned with modern football as there are some clubs he does enjoy watching.
“What teams do I enjoy? [Eduardo] Berizzo’s Athletic Club because of their intensity and lack of pragmatism, and I like [Quique] Setien’s Real Betis, they play with original ideas,” he added.
“Of course, I really like watching Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.”
Xavi, who enjoyed four incredible seasons under Guardiola at Barcelona, like many, are witnessing his former manager take City to new heights.
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Guardiola arrived at the Etihad in 2016 after enjoying unprecedented success at both his former clubs Barca and Bayern Munich, winning six league titles across seven seasons, but in his first campaign at City he ended up trophy-less, and on occasions his team played lacklustre football.
Despite the criticism levelled towards him, Guardiola stuck to what he knows best and in empathic fashion delivered City a third Premier League title, as well as his seventh overall across three different countries, and many expect them to defend their crown as well as win this season’s Champions League.
The post Xavi says Diego Simeone turned to “boring” football to compete with Barcelona appeared first on Squawka News.
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