In fact, in his early days on the Barça bench, he had already tried it, but more out of necessity than conviction. He had tried it with Gavi, while against Athletic it was Pedri who played as a false winger and the coach hit the right button. His approach blurred the aggressive pressure of the Basque team and altered his plans, as Ernesto Valverde confessed, who did not hide his “surprise” at the Canary’s new position. In fact, Pedri had never played in this place since he is a professional footballer. The most similar thing is a few minutes with Ronald Koeman against Sevilla, on matchday five of the 2020-21 course, although it was not in the 4-3-3 scheme, but with a 4- 2-3-1.
As for Iniesta, who is now finishing his career at Vissel Kobe, he played on a hundred occasions as a fake left winger, either as a starter or coming off the bench. He started playing there, occasionally, with Frank Rijkaard. Despite not having much continuity in this position with the Dutchman, he did occupy it in some important matches, such as in the semi-finals of the 2007-08 Champions League against Manchester United. During Pep Guardiola’s four years, he was placed as a false winger the most times, with a total of 48. In the 2009 Champions League semi-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in which he scored an iconic goal, he played -there With Tito Vilanova and Tata Martino he didn’t play much and, with Luis Enrique (Barça of the trident) and Valverde, practically nothing.
At the moment, Xavi continues to see Pedri as an interior player and wants to continue insisting on the ends. But Sant Joan Despí assured ARA that the formula used against Athletic “will be repeated depending on the match”. The good result of the approach has opened up a new range of possibilities that the coaching staff will take advantage of to have “more resources depending on the opponent”. It was not the first time that Xavi played with four midfielders: last season, before the winter market, he already played with them more than once. The absence of experienced specialists on the wings meant that Gavi started as a false left-winger, while in the middle (with Pedri injured from September to January) he was often called upon to start with Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Nico This was the formula chosen in several matches, as in Xavi’s debut against Espanyol (1-0) in which Ilias made his debut, in the draw against Benfica (0-0), with a scheme of 3-4-3, or in the victory against Villarreal (1-3).
Awaiting reinforcements
With reinforcements, things would change. Ferran Torres made his debut as a starter in the Super Cup against Real Madrid, forming a forward line with Luuk de Jong and Dembélé. Pedri, who had just passed the coronavirus, would enter the second half, while De Jong, Busquets and Gavi played at the start. Already with Adama and Aubameyang, Xavi would again play with four midfielders against Atlético de Madrid (4-2), a scheme he would maintain the following day, against Espanyol, but it would not work so well for him (2-2). On February 17, in the draw against Napoli in the Europa League (1-1), he started an offensive trident formed by the three new faces for the first time. Playing with three midfielders would be the usual resource, especially in the most important matches, such as in the qualifiers for the Europa League or the visit to Real Madrid.
Taking stock, most of the most complete victories of Xavi’s Barça were with three midfielders and two wingers, although last year’s famous elimination in the Europa League against Eintracht (2-3) came with the technician’s favorite drawing. This season, with a remarkably renewed squad, Xavi had not played with four starting midfielders until the thrashing against Athletic. The coach did act with a double pivot in the visit to Anoeta (1-4), but in the starting team there were only three midfielders: Gavi, De Jong and Pedri. Sergio Busquets was suspended. Now, with Pedri, as he once did with his friend Iniesta, Xavi has found an old resource to make Barcelona fans smile.
