Xavi in 2011-2012
(La Liga)
Appearances- 26 (5 as substitute)
Goals- 10
Assists- 7
With age now playing a factor in Xavi’s involvement for Barcelona, the club often looked to save his legs for the latter rounds of the Champions League, where the giants were beaten by Chelsea over two legs, the Spanish midfielder has been the benchmark of quality that all young midfielders have looked to emulate following an extraordinary period of success for Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. With an unrivalled passing style, Xavi has been surrounded by a wealth of talent at the club, with the passing ability of Fabregas and Iniesta besides him, the raw pace and finishing of Alexis Sanchez and Leo Messi for him to pass to, as well as the steel of Sergio Busquets behind him, allowing him to venture forward from time to time to chip in with a goal. With Iniesta seen as the clone replacement of Xavi, the 32 year old Spaniard will look to set the benchmark and provide passing and movement of a different level for another season or two, leaving Modric with his work cut out to provide the same level of contribution to his team.
Mesut Ozil
(La Liga)
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Appearances- 30 (5 as a substitute)
Goals- 4
Assists- 17
Lining up alongside Ronaldo and Di Maria in an attacking midfield three just behind Benzema, the German has improved vastly and been given the freedom to express himself on the pitch, and this has shown by the number of assists in the league. Allowing himself to rotate positions with Di Maria and Ronaldo has let him to run into gaps through the centre of midfield to chip in with the odd goal, as well as occupying positions on the wing to allow Ronaldo a more central position in attack, which has given Ozil the opportunity to show his vision and craft by finding the Portugese attacker, who finished the title winning season as the top scorer.
Modric will find it hard to emulate the level of contribution to the team which Iniesta and Xavi have maintained over the last few seasons at Barcelona, mainly due to the different formation played by Madrid, in which the midfield two sitting in behind the attacking three of Ozil, Ronaldo and Di Maria will have to be much more disciplined, and often play as deep lying playmakers. This will take a bit of adjustment for the Croatian, as he is used to the freedom he was allowed under Redknapp at Tottenham. However, the passing ability and vision of the player cannot be underestimated, and bar a really bad season in terms of personal performance, he is likely to finish in the top 10 number of assists in the Spanish league, dominated by the top two teams in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
How do you believe Modric will perform in his first season in La Liga? Whose place will he take in the Real Madrid line up? Share your views on my twitter and personal blog.
@Dharmesh Tank
http://dharmeshtank.wordpress.
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only chelsea fans care?