Barca: Afellay is good, says Xavi

FC Barcelona is a team from another planet but it’s also a club like any other club. Whenever a new player enters the practice, he will be tested. Immediately. Let’s see if this lad can play ball. You never know. The Barca players have seen it before. Good players who ended up hiding, afraid to get the ball. Even if they were signed on for millions of euros.

Ibrahim Afellay came in the winter break. A no-name player, in Spain. A bit unloved even. Except for football fanatic Xavi Hernandez who follows every competition and knows every player. There were the first greetings and polite conversation and then the warm up. After the warm up came the rondo. The eternal, trusted rondo. The gameplay that Barca perfected to the highest form of perfection.

Afellay, 25 years old, saw his first ball coming towards him. Low, as it is supposed to be, and very hard. You have to actually watch a practice session live to be able to see how fierce the passing is. We used to call it passing the ball, but at Barca it’s as if every player fires the ball with maximum strength, straight into the feet of a team mate. Or sometimes a tad to the left or right, to direct a team mate into a certain direction.

Xavi: “It was clear from the start, with Ibi. He knows what he’s doing. He didn’t just take the ball and controlled it, he was immediately looking for the best next pass. And never to the player closest, but to the player most deep. Good genes, this lad.”

Afellay grins but quickly adds: “I wasn’t able to participate that well, mind you. We did rondo’s at PSV but never this fierce and sharp. It took some adjustments. Even if I had only trained with this group I would have been grateful. Simply training with these guys make me a better player.”

But, there is a second test in the tightknit squad of Barcelona. It’s almost a cult with Pep as their spiritual leader. Xavi: “A player at Barca also needs to be a good man. That’s how we are raised in our youth development system. Respect is important. No one is more or less than another. Not in attitude. Maybe in football, yes, but not off the pitch.” And they did have to suffer a couple like that at Barca. Some players had severe issues with being one of the team. Thierry Henry was the superstar at Arsenal. He didn’t think it was easy to adjust. Or Zlatan, prima donna at Inter, couldn’t cope with it at all and left after one season.

But Afellay was ok. They could see it in his eyes. A player who came to develop, to grow. A nice bloke. Ali Afellay, Ibi’s older brother, watched his brother become part of Barcelona. “It’s unbelievable how normal the Barca stars are. They’re all nice guys.”

Ibi has had quite a first half year in Spain. Four clasicos against Real, the title and now the CL finals against Man United. He is on the journey, in the plane, the hotel, the dressing room, the bench and the pitch. Ibi was part of 27 games already, of which five in the Champions League. And Ibi scored two goals.

“Cool eh? First season at Barca and immediately a CL finals. I’m preparing like I normally do. I won’t do anything different, although I do realise only so many Dutch players get to this level. I knew I wouldn’t start but I did hope for some playing time.
I know a lot of people criticised my move to Spain but I’m happy. I came onto the pitch in the game against Real and had the assist on Messi…. That tells me enough.