The "tiki-taka" philosophy also influenced the Spanish national team in those years. This playing style also gives more credit to creativity than the physical battle of players. It gives high ball possession with quick short passes so a team that manages to do it successfully can dictate the tempo of the game. In the Guardiola era, Barcelona has performed the famous "tiki-taka" passing style to earn local and international success. In both Champions League finals, Barcelona beat England's Manchester United by 2-0 in Rome and 3-1 in London. He guided Lionel Messi-led Barcelona to win the Champions League twice in 20. Guardiola retired in 2006 to manage Barcelona in 2008, which was his first senior-level head coach experience. In the 1992 final, Barca beat Italy's Sampdoria 1-0 with an extra-time goal scored by Dutch defender Ronald Koeman. Guardiola was 21 when he lifted the 1992 European Cup with Barcelona. His main position was defensive midfield. He played for Barcelona in 1991-2001, then left the Spanish team to join Italy's Brescia. Similar to Xavi, Guardiola played in Barcelona's youth teams until he was promoted to the senior squad in 1991. Now managing Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, 50, spent the majority of his football career at Barcelona. Guardiola wins Champions League twice as manager Liverpool lifted the 2005 trophy-winning 3-2 on penalties in a historic night for the English club.Īncelotti's Milan returned home with a silver medal in 2005. Neither team was able to score in extra time and the match went to penalties. But after the break, Liverpool scored three goals in an impressive comeback to tie the match. In this eight-year spell, Ancelotti, 62, repeated his Champions League success with Milan in 20.īefore the 2003 Champions League triumph, Milan had built an admired team to take the European title as many stars such as Paolo Maldini, Andriy Shevchenko, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, and Rui Costa were the Rossoneri regulars in these years.Īfter the 2003 victory that Milan beat Juventus on penalties in the all-Italian final in Manchester, Ancelotti's men have done it again in 2007.īut this time, they won against Liverpool 2-1 in the 2007 final in Athens to take the revenge of 2005, which was one of the most dramatic Champions League finals in history.Īt the end of the first half in Istanbul, Milan were dominating the match 3-0. The Champions League was called the European Cup at the time and was rebranded in 1992.Īncelotti became the AC Milan manager in 2001 and served for the Rossoneri until 2009. Italian national Ancelotti was an AC Milan player in 1987-1992 to win back-to-back European Cup in 19. Known for his visual perception, passing, and playmaking skills in the center of the park, Barca's ex-captain Xavi won many trophies in this term, including four Champions League titles in 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015. Xavi, 41, a pure Barcelona product and legend, played 767 matches for Barcelona over 17 years in the first team (1998-2015), scoring 85 goals and producing 185 assists. In previous years, many well-known football figures such as Ancelotti, Guardiola, and Zidane managed to win the Champions League as a player and then as a head coach for the same club. Read more of this content when you subscribe today.ANKARA - Barcelona's new manager Xavi Hernandez was one of the integral parts of the Spanish football club as an active player in the 2000s when Barca dominated Europe, winning the UEFA Champions League titles several times.Ī four-time Champions League winner, Xavi eyes to win Europe's top-tier title as a Barcelona head coach to join Carlo Ancelotti, Josep Guardiola, and Zinedine Zidane. Here is a tactical analysis of Xavi Hernandez’s Al Sadd. Barcelona are keeping a close eye on the now 41-year-old, and in time we may see one of the game greatest ever midfielders become one of the game’s greatest ever managers. The Spanish midfielder has quietly gone about his business at Al Sadd, playing in Guardiola-esque ways and doing del-Bosque-esque things, winning six trophies in two seasons so far. The very next season he was named manager of the squad and soon afterward completely revolutionized Al Saad into a near unstoppable unit in the QPL. He then went on to finish his career in style, winning the Qatari league in his final season at the club in 2018-19. He won twenty-five major trophies with Barcelona and three for Spain, before moving to Qatar ahead of the 2015-16 season. In his hay-day with both Spain and Barcelona, Xavi formed one of the best midfield triads the game has ever seen, alongside Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. Former Barcelona man Xavi Hernandez is widely considered one of the best midfielders of all time.