XAVI HERNANDEZ has heaped praise on Celtic’s passionate supporters, insisting there is nothing in the world to match them. At 34, the Spanish legend is now starting to wind down his incredible career at Barcelona. In almost two decades at the top, Xavi has won and seen the lot. An Under-20 World Cup winner in 1999, a senior World Cup winner in 2010 and success at both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 in his 134 caps. At Barca, he has won 25 trophies, more than any other Spanish player in history, and received five Ballon d’Or nominations. Yet Xavi believes that for everything he has experienced, nothing compares to the Hoops fans. He has faced the Parkhead team on numerous occasions in UEFA Cup and Champions League meetings over the past 15 years and said: “I don’t think I have seen anything like the Celtic fans in all the stadiums I have played. “When you step out at Celtic Park, the atmosphere they create for their team is incredible. It doesn’t matter how many big games you have played in, walking out into that atmosphere is always intense. “What makes them the best for me is their support when they lose. “It is easy to make noise when you win against Barcelona but in Spain we beat them 6-1 and most fans would have left the stadium. “However at the end, the fans were making noise like they had just won The Champions League, not like a team that had just conceded six. “Henrik Larsson used to talk about them and it is easy to see why he chose to spend so much of his career there. “He could have played at any club. But when you are idolised like he was, I can see why he didn’t want to leave.” Xavi has shared a pitch with some of the greatest players on the planet but picked two out for special praise. From the past, the playmaker was a huge admirer of Manchester United and England schemer Paul Scholes. He said: “I would loved to have played with Scholes. He plays the game the way it should be played and at his peak he was the best midfield player in the world. “I don’t think it could ever have happened though because his love and loyalty for United was the same as mine for Barcelona.” From the present, Lionel Messi stands out. The Argentine became La Liga’s all-time leading goalscorer after scoring a hat-trick in Saturday’s 5-1 thrashing of Sevilla. Messi had been one short of the record for over a month but finally matched Telmo Zarra’s 251 league goals with a fantastic free-kick, before adding two more after the break. The 27-year-old has scored 368 goals for Barcelona and Xavi makes no secret of his admiration for him. He said: “I have played in some great Barcelona teams with some great players. “So much credit has to go to La Masia (the youth academy). “Of course, they teach us the Barcelona philosophy of playing but it is so much more than that. They also teach you how to be a good person and a good man. “All of Barcelona’s recent success would not have been possible without all the people at La Masia. “Messi is the best already, the best there has ever been. “Over the last 10 years, Messi has been superior to any other player on the planet. “All the players at Barcelona are used to playing with great players for club and country – but even the best sometimes had to stand back in amazement during training at what he was capable of doing. “We’re happy about everything for Leo. This is an incredible record, historic, and he deserves it as a person and as a player. ”Leo’s happy to be here and we’ve seen it once again. When Messi’s happy, Barca’s happy.” GBXH HH YNWA -PP-
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 20:51:23 +0000
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