According to Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez coach Pep Guardiola is the best in the business in the world right now.
Notably, Xavi joined Barca during Guardiola’s concluding years at Camp Nou, however, the latter returned as the manager of the senior team and remained at the helm of affairs from 2008 to 2012.
Xavi, who too was at Camp Nou during Guardiola’s four-year stint as manager of Barcelona, said that it was a privilege for him to have the coach contributing ideas.
“To be honest, I consider him the best coach in the world right now. So any knowledge he can impart to me will be more than welcome,” said Xavi as quoted by the official website of Manchester City.
“It’s a privilege to have him around contributing ideas,” he added.
Xavi, who himself is the manager of Qatari outfit Al Sadd, said that he has learned a lot from Guardiola and follows the coaching great’s tactics.
“Guardiola also wants to be dominant, he wants to have the ball, strong possession, lots of attacking movements… It’s ultimately about being proactive within the game,” said Xavi.
“It’s about skilfully attacking the opponent in a certain way. In this sense it is not my idea. I’ve learned a lot with Guardiola, from the way he is, the ambition he has, the desire and passion that he feels. He’s a football-obsessed tactician and it has been a pleasure to be around him.
“We talk often. We’ve got a good relationship. We met up in the summer and grabbed a bite to eat, which was really nice,” he added.