There are few nations that do ‘polemica’ – controversy – quite as well as Spain or Spanish football.
On Wednesday evening Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was asked about styles and came back with an answer that although arguably true – given the fate of Ernesto Valverde – caused a stir in Spain.
“Barca’s history demands [that we play well], Madrid’s does not,” Xavi told Sport.
“Out history since 40 years ago when [Johan] Cruyff came, he set a bar: win by playing well. If not, we won’t be happy, that’s how we Catalans are.”
“In Madrid, I don’t know. They are a spectacular opponent, with a great competitive gene. But Barcelona is a different story.”
Many outlets took these comments as a criticism of other clubs – unsurprisingly in Madrid – mounting debates about what playing well meant and whether a certain style has a monopoly on that term.
In today’s pre-match press conference, these comments were put to Carlo Ancelotti, who was philosophical in his response.
“I would like to answer with a question: what does it mean to play well? Everyone has their opinion. For me, playing well is doing things well when you have the ball as much as when you don’t. Defending well is not synonymous with playing well if the players don’t know what to do with the ball. And vice versa.”
It seems Ancelotti was keen to highlight the validity of different styles, adding this to answer – picked up by Sport again.
“Football is attacking and defending. And there are many ways to defend: with a low block, a medium or with a high press. That’s how I understand football. Atletico defended very very well in the first leg of the tie with Manchester City.”
