I miss watching the midfield maestro Xavi. The man was on another level picking out passes, pressing defenders, his movement with the ball. In my humble opinion the best Spanish midfielder ever.

Times when messi was just one of the stars in Barcelona...

Xavi is definitely one of the best midfielders ever... The passes & how he retains the ball exceptionally well for a player who's not known as a speedster or trickster, he's a genius

Xavi was the one who made the difference...around him every single player looked even better

Xavi was just on another level in this match..

One of the few matches when a goalkeeper (casillas) concedes 6 goals yet still has the right to be said he played well- because he did, and he made some great saves. its just barca played better.

As a Real Madrid fan, this is the humiliating game we have played in recent times. If it weren’t for casillas this would have possibly been our worst loss this century by far. Xavi iniesta and Messi toyed with our midfield, which was world class, as if they were amateurs

No one talks about Mertesacker who is in the line up instead of Metzelder

Xavi, Messi & Henry in the same side just isn't fair.

Henry made those finishes look so easy. Chilled and relaxed.

"Madrid has that winning mentality" Guardiola: Well yes, but no

Even as a Madrid fan, I can't help but applaud at the genius of this man.

Barcelona played this game like it was a practice game. They were so relaxed.

11:31 that turn from xavi ! World class

Xavi so underrated. Rarely made a mistake and was special in international play.

Aaahh, Pep with hair and Barca with the treble, how mighty everything has changed

lol the times when messi scoring 26 in the league was considered "incredible". what a player

None one talks about Henry, one of the best strikers ever! period!

Somehow Henry is underrated. One of the greatest players I've ever seen.

This was the best football team I've ever seen. Absolutely devastating.

Watching this in 2019 with Valverde as the manager... I’m crying...

11:31 Xavi creating goal chance from literally nothing. This man was a fucking genius in the game.

I see everyone here hailing Messi, Henry, and Xavi, but my salutations to Pep Guardiola, the real genius behind Real Madrid's massacre.

I remember watching this game where no one from the madrid team can take that ball away from xavi.....stay healthy legend!

Ramos vs every clubs: 89ovrl Ramos vs barca: 70ovrl

Henry looks like he’s barely trying

Xavi was the MOTM for me. He gives such an edge being in Barca's midfield over Real Madrid. His turns, great first touches and passing needs to be more appreciated! He doesn't lose the ball unnecessarily and presses well. He makes it all look so simple too. What a player.

This is not football, this is art.

My takeaway from this match is that I forgot how good Xavi was. Absolute class of a player

4:02 ramos the genius

Xavi-Iniesta-Messi-Eto'o-Henry when this five players on top of their performance, the game already end.

11:31 Xavi's stroll after he knows he's done his job. Class act!

lol remember when they used to say he’s nothing without Xavi and iniesta

Everytime that pause and rounding came i thought my connection is poor

Wow, a lot of all-time greats in this game. The analysis was highly entertaining.

This helped me so much to understand false 9s and how Messi is literally the best at the position, he gets the ball deep and creates space for runs, he also drives the ball up to push the offside line back

xavi at his prime had no rival,he was controlled the midifield like no one

They look so calm and relaxed, they truly believed in Pep’s plan. Peak Barca right here

Whos here after he announced he wants to leave barca

Thank you for this wonderful trip down the memory lane! God I miss the Barcelona with Xavi and Iniesta!

Messi, Iniesta, xavi, Thierry Henry, eto's, puyol, pique .....ohh what a team that was

7:59 Xavi knowing he was hugging the best player of all times, as he has said many times. Grande Xavi!

I remember watching this game on TV and seeing Casillas as the best goalkeeper of all time, if it weren't for him Barcelona would have scored 10+ goals easily

Ah henry's finishing 😍, wish he never left arsenal

Holy shit, Pep is a genius

xavi ! what an amazing player

Watching it after Messi's departure. Smiling and crying at the same time

Xavi had the mind and the touch, Messi has the mind, the touch, the physical ability ect ect. Legends

"they played us like a damn fiddle"-real madrid

Thank you for the deep explanation that shows you how important a good manager is

I've been watching Barca played since childhood and I've been loving the way they played but this is the first time I've seen an in depth in to the Guardiola era. Love the work you've done here showing exactly how the tiki taka works.

It’s really nostalgic to watch these matches, so many legends

Man this footage makes me wanna cry. This was Barça

The Barca that every team was afraid of, Barca nowadays is like any other team, nobody is afraid of it anymore

This was a great analysis. Very much enjoyed this, thanks!

I love how the commentators sounds like they're just having a conversation about the game. And then when Barca scores they remember that they're commentators. And then they go back to enjoying the sheer pleasure of watching this Barca team play.

Look at all the legends on the Barca team. Every position has legends that have won everything.

There is a few reasons as to why messi played as a false 9 to which you named some but you did not mentioned the most important one. Messi played as a false 9 and dropped to midfield to create superiority in the mid. Sometimes it would be a 4v2 in the mid. Once barca had control of the mid, the game was already won. Creating space was important, but as you may see in the second half, Madrids CB no longer followed messi once he dropped so the was no longer there, they stayed in their positions, but this made the back four very flat, because they weren't really marking anyone, which lead to the fourth goal. Also a 4-4-2 is suicide against barca lol

Really well explained. I really appreciate. I miss those years not only for football but for other things too and I really missed those matches too

This Xavi could play with any half decent striker and make him a god.

Xavi was hands down the best midfielder in the history of spain and probably the best ever.

6:07 Orgasmic football, listen to commentator. It's so refreshing watching this Barca team now in 2017.

Anyone after Bayern defeat This was Barcelona Like if you agree

This is why I love Barcelona and Messi. Madrid always had great players and they are the best club in football history, I have to admit. But Barca made me fall in love with its tactical and beautiful football. For me, the legacy of Barca is beyond UCLs and league titles and no matter how how hard the time is, I'll always support Barcelona. ❤️💙❤️💙

Xavi was the MOTM for me, he was the engine that made this car run past madrid

this team loved each other, you can see their faces when they score

This is why messi has so many assists alongside his goals. The false 9 position. And only Messi can play in that position. He can give the right pass at the right time, and dribble past the defenders and score the goal by himself. Genius.🎉

if I have to say a Complete player, then its non other than Leo Messi... No one comes close to him. Lucky to witness the greatness of Leo Messi...💕

The first time the video paused and those red circles came up, my high ass thought KZfaq broke and those circles were the new buffering icons

Good video. I went back after I read a book on the subject, to rewatch Brazil in the 1970 World Cup, and they began the idea of the "false 9." Back then, teams used to man mark strictly, so Brazil's Manager started moving his fowards out of the middle of the field to pull their man away, creating space foe the midfielders and defenders to run into. The center forward was Tostao, with Pele and Jairzinho (who scored in ever game) as the wingers. Rivelino, the inventor of the elastic, was the midfielder. Brazil moved Tostao to the left wing, withdrew Pele to midfield, and had Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto running down the right wing, and Rivelino down the left. Look at the goal against England. It was Pelele advancing into the center and doing a simple touch pass to Jairzinho, who was unmarked, for the only goal. Rivelino scored four goals advancing on the left, and the second most famous goal in WC history, Carlos Alberto's rocket, also came from Pele doing a touch pass to the fullback. Can you make a video on that?

Awesome video! Thank you so much!!

Excellent video mate...the class that this Barca team had is impeccable

Xavi was a beast and rumour has it that Madrid players are still chasing after him till this day.

I'm still watching this 2019 lol

That Barca team was the greatest team I have ever seen during all my years watching the sport. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta... so much talent and such a beautiful style of playing!

La cantidad de veces que Messi quedaba sin marca o generaba espacios por jalar marcas con solo estar cambiando de posición unos 2 a 5 metros. Nadie sabía quién lo tenía que marcar. Guardiola es un genio.

Commentator: there is going to be goals in this one for sure. yeah he got that right

Thanks for making this! This is the team that made me fall in love w footy/barca. They were an absolute joy to watch.

What a gk casilas was

I love watching this over and over.

My god I keep forgetting Roben played for Real. Jeez.

Best attacker-Messi Best midfielder-Xavi Best defender-Puyol Best coach-Pep And now Best attacker-Messi Worst coach-Valvarde. Those were the days!!!

He went for the wonder goal. Shot on target. And defended successfully too. That's how good the times were 😭😭

that last goal... simply amazing. actually a masterclass from xavi and messi of how to pass and run into space

My goodness what a classic! It gives me the goosebumps to see all these players were once on one field!

Messi: signals everybody involved in the goal Henry: I did it myself

There is so many videos about this, but the way u presented in ur video it's unique 👍

Eto'o was absolutely next level at this stage too... His career had the weirdest wind down, most expensive transfer in football history with Anzhi, and then ending up on the bench for everton, not knowing who his coach was 😂

This was Peps barca Really miss those days😭

Noticed two things 1. Messi was as great as he is today 2. Ramos was as shitty as he is today

Xavi was a monster

So many brilliant Barca players that it’s hard to pick one to focus on. And in that brilliant group Messi still reigns supreme.

The beginning of Barca's golden era. That match was the big bang and the realization that barca is in a different level.

Watching this in the Valverde era and well, I am sad.

Aah the good old times when Mertesacker was the centre-back of Real Madrid, I really remember those days back in another parallel universe

ty 4 analysis

It took two midfield magicians; Xavi and Iniesta to counter the attacking brilliance of Raul. The world best second striker who has connected with every single center forward that was put alongside him. This was indeed a very big match in the history of this game and important to light a fire under Madrid's ass.

Xavi was a cold blooded monster. 🥶

This team was something else! 💙❤

Watching this in 2021 with Koeman as the manager and xavi iniesta messi all missing. I'm not crying :))