Eric Garcia admits he sees aspects of Pep Guardiola in new Barcelona manager Xavi.
Barcelona hired legendary former midfielder Xavi as their new manager during the international break after sacking another club icon in Ronald Koeman.
The World Cup winner was cutting his teeth as a coach by managing Qatari side Al Sadd and is now looking to take the Catalonians back to their football traditions on the pitch.
Xavi played 208 times for City manager Guardiola at the Camp Nou during four incredible years in which they won every trophy imaginable and the midfielder established himself as one of the best of all time.
The 41-year-old was renowned for his passing ability — much like Guardiola — and Garcia has already spotted similarities between the pair as managers in just a few training sessions.
“In Xavi I see things from Pep and also Luis Enrique,” the centre-back told Dario Sport. “He’s a club legend and he’s a very good coach. His mentality hooks in the player a lot and the character it develops is very important.”
Garcia returned to Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer after deciding to call time on his four-year stint in Manchester.
While he believes Xavi is the right ‘the right person’ to manage the team now, he hasn’t got a bad word to say about former coach Koeman.
“For me, personally, Ronald helped me a lot and I only have words of thanks,” he added.
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