Xavi: I’ve got a Pep in my step

XAVI HERNANDEZ, the world’s finest midfielder, remembers the advice he received when, aged 10, he made a first tentative journey to La Masia, the 18th century farmhouse in the shadow of the Camp Nou where FC Barcelona school their kids.

“My coach said, ‘Watch how Pep Guardiola plays. He is perfect in his position — your position’. And he was right. If Pep was still playing he’d be in the side ahead of any of us.”

Xavi’s progress meant he eventually played alongside Guardiola, now the first La Masia graduate to coach the first team.