Pep Guardiola has been many things to Barcelona great Xavi, among them terrace idol, role model, team competitor, mentor, teammate, coach and friend. As such, he has studied the Manchester City manager more carefully, and intimately, than most, and learned what makes him tick. Together they won three league titles, two Champions Leagues , two Copa del Reys and two Club World Cups. And now Xavi is striking out on his own as manager of Qatari side Al-Sadd, armed with his knowledge of how Guardiola does it. The young Xavi found comparisons to Nou Camp star Guardiola tough to deal with when he was first making the breakthrough at Barca. He was even labelled the “Young Guardiola”, not an easy burden to bear for a teenager trying to make his way. And in his first coaching appointment, the comparisons have already begun, despite Xavi’s attempts to close them down. “Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the world and I am a novice,” he told the PA news agency. “The comparison happened as a player but now we can’t be compared.” “Guardiola is a reference for me. As a player he already was, because we played in the same position,…