Xavi on Gavi: Sometimes you have to stop him!

Today's Barça, without the grit, hard work and attitude with which Gavi imbues in the other players, would be meaningless. For Xavi, he is an essential player. At 19 years of age, he plays like a veteran, he doesn't shy away, he bites. A sometimes unstoppable impetus. After the resounding victory over Antwerp in the Champions League opener, Xavi, asked at the press conference, could not be more sincere about the figure of the Villafranca player. 

"Gavi is a very dynamic player, but it's difficult for him to hold his position. He can run and press three players in a row and sometimes we have to stop him," said the Terrassa coach. Far from being interpreted as a 'dart' or as something motivational for the boy, Xavi highlighted the inexhaustible energy of a footballer who is both heart and talent. 

It is not the first time in a press conference that the Barça coach has mentioned this impetus. On many occasions, when the team perhaps lacked an extra point of intensity, Gavi has been the one who has imbued the others with that punditry. 

For Xavi, Gavi has a thousand virtues. He has tired of praising him whenever he has been able to publicly. Even this summer, when he was unable to play a single minute in pre-season due to back problems and with the signing of Gündogan, it might have seemed that he would lose prominence. 

The numbers are saying the opposite. Logically, at 19 he has a long way to go. And things to improve and mould himself. Sometimes we see him pressing and defending like a 'possessed' soul and it is the job of the staff to control that energy and 'channel' it in some way.