15.07.2010 11:09

Xavi, king of passing

Marc Guillén

Any description of the way Xavi Hernàndez plays has to mention his vision and passing, and his World Cup statistics reflect that. He made the most passes of any player in South Africa.

The ‘engine’ of Guardiola’s side is the man who played the most games this season, and is also the man who made the most passes in midfield, as such stats as his number of assists for Barça and his number of successful passes at the World Cup prove.

Most passes at the World Cup

Now the tournament is over, the time has come to make a general balance, and one of the most significant stats is the number of passes made by Xavi Hernàndez. The Catalan midfielder managed 544 passes, and 669 of them were good. That puts him top of the ranking for the tournament.

Most assists for Barça

Xavi Hernàndez was one of the players that made the biggest difference in the Barça team last year. 31 of his passes led to goals, making him the team’s leader in terms of assists.

Barça stars put Spain top in passing

Xavi and company ensured that the Barça style governed the way Spain played at this World Cup, and which led to some extraordinary stats. Thanks to tiki-taka, Spain made the most passes at a World Cup since such stats were recorded, their 3,753 dwarfing the record until now, which was set by Brazil in 1994 with 3,547.