Xavi vs Zidane
1 Video View·Feb 15, 2025
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An interesting battle between two midfield maestros. At 23, Xavi was an emerging talent, while the 31-year-old Zidane was in his prime with Real Madrid. This game happened during the Galactico era and before Barcelona's possession based dominance. Despite their efforts, it was Valencia who would clinch the league title.
Zinedine Zidane vs Xavi Hernandez. Two of the best midfielders in history
would play against each other in this El Clásico game in the 2003-2004 season.
Here we see Zidane driving through the midfield with one of his classic runs,
only to be stopped by a clumsy tackle from Puyol. Some silky one-touch passing from Real Madrid
meant that Barcelona couldn't even get close to them. And while Xavi has said many times that he
suffered when he did not have the ball, he does show that he can defend when needed.
Xavi does his trademark spin to evade Zidane's pressure.
Before Ronaldinho and Messi, Xavi was Barcelona's main free kick taker,
and you can see why. An incredible save from Casillas denies Xavi from scoring.
Zidane was given a free role in this Real Madrid team,
and he's all over the place, and Xavi can't do much but foul him.
It's quite interesting to see Xavi in a non-possession-based team,
and it really shows how his best traits come out when the team has the ball. As the match progressed,
you can tell that Zidane was getting tired, and a younger Xavi was taking advantage of that.
Real Madrid and Zidane would win this battle, but Xavi's time would come,
and he would soon dominate Spanish football for many years.