Xavi Hernandez Still Has an Important Role to Play for Luis Enrique at Barcelona

Xavi Hernandez is a legend at Barcelona, but the club captain is finding himself in an unfamiliar position this season. 

The central midfielder has found himself on the bench on several occasions, with newcomer Ivan Rakitic preferred in his place.

Rakitic fits into a three-man midfield for Luis Enrique, with Andres Iniesta on the left side of the central trio, Rakitic on the right and Sergio Busquets behind those two.

While Iniesta mainly focuses his energy on creating opportunities for the three forwards ahead of him, Rakitic fulfills a dual role.

On one hand he supplements the attack and makes several late runs into the box or shoots from the edge of the area.

But on the other he also does a defensive duty when Dani Alves, the right-back, flies up to join the forwards.

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Rakitic is willing and able to help out when teams break on Barcelona, making a few useful tackles and putting himself about in a way that Xavi cannot.

But Xavi has never been a great physical presence, and even though his pace and strength have declined at 34, going on 35, the part of his game which made him such a hero for the Blaugrana remains.

His passing means he is the team's metronome: consistent and brilliant. Enrique threw Xavi on against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, a game Barcelona often looked lost-at-sea in.

When Xavi entered the fray, the team were much calmer and began to dominate the ball and finally put together a sustained period of pressure.

Rakitic has generally been outstanding so far but could not help the team against PSG, with Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi often getting the better of him in midfield.

It shows that there are some games in which Xavi will still be useful. Barcelona's 6-0 win over Granada was one of those.

The Catalan midfielder started in Iniesta's position on the left side of midfield, with Rakitic and Busquets completing the trio.

Xavi played well and contributed to the best goal of the game, with a brilliant pass flipped back into the box by Alves, for Lionel Messi to finish off. A classic Barca combination.

In theory, Xavi could play almost all of Barcelona's home matches, allowing Enrique to rest either Iniesta or Rakitic for the tougher, more physically draining away games.

That would make a lot of sense for Barcelona supporters, too, who would then get to watch the midfielder's swansong season unfold at Camp Nou.

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While Enrique would never make such a decision based on sentiment, it also makes sense from a footballing perspective.

Xavi has the ability to control the rhythm and tempo of a game like no other and his passes will still be instrumental as Barcelona strive to break stubborn opponents down. 

Other than that, he can be utilised from the bench to add a touch of class and coolness when Enrique deems the side needs it, like against PSG.

The player knows that he is no longer a first-choice starter, but he has the superb attitude you would expect from such a brilliant professional.

He said, per SPORT: "I try to take in my new position on the team, I want to play and feel useful, like the day we played Granada or Villarreal. I have to adapt, the team is bigger than any individual. I have to try to be competitive in training and demonstrate that I can be a starter. That depends on the coach."