3 - Gerard Pique

Messigician

Messigician

Senior Member
Gerard Piqué made 14 clearances against Real Madrid, more than any other FC Barcelona player in ElClasico in La Liga since at least 2005/06.
 
K

kollegah

Senior Member
Vahue said:
Van Dijk is better but Pique might be the second best center back in the world right now. Hopefully he keeps this up.
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what does exactly make VVD one of the best defenders besides that annoying hype coming from "the most competitive" league in the world?
 
clemente

clemente

New member
VVD has a pace of a winger, stronger, can jump higher, just an NFL athlete, also very smart, confident, composed on the ball, he is always dictating his back line, talkative, very good captain, also he doesn't need february to start performing, he is consistently at the same form throughout the season. Pique simply never had a season that was as good as VVD's.
 
Leo_Messi

Leo_Messi

New member
clemente said:
VVD has a pace of a winger, stronger, can jump higher, just an NFL athlete, also very smart, confident, composed on the ball, he is always dictating his back line, talkative, very good captain, also he doesn't need february to start performing, he is consistently at the same form throughout the season. Pique simply never had a season that was as good as VVD's.
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In particular trophy wise and actually helping lead his team to the biggest trophies that you can win as an elite player.:lol:

VVD has been great (if not tremendous) this season but let us not overreact. Piqué (and plenty of other CB's in the past 10 years) have had similar seasons and unlike VVD had something to show for it in the end in the form of trophies.

Piqué was a beast during the treble season of 2008-09 (first season), 2010-11 season (league and CL double) and the 2014-15 treble season. Playing a key role in all of them. Looks to have gained momentum in recent moths as well and is playing on a tremendous level given his age (32). VVD on the other hand is in his prime and has 1 season in his belt in the elite (since his move to Liverpool). He has much to prove yet.
 
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H

Havesaks

Senior Member
Leo_Messi said:
Overall he has had an amazing career for club and country. Everywhere that he has been actually. Even for a stacked Man Utd he performed well whenever he played and helped them win the CL in 2008. In Zaragoza as a 18 year old, he was one of their very best performers (quickly became a starter alongside Gabi Milito) and probably the best performing youngster (CB) in the league that season (2006-07).

Sure he had periods with bad form, not looking focused (his main problem) and not being the leader that he should be (defensively) in such time periods. However he has always bounced back and he is almost always one of our better performers in the top games. Been the case since forever.

Being married to the likes of Shakira and having so many projects (successful at that too) outside of football obviously takes a toll. Him getting kids etc. The political mess in the country that he feels strongly about. Obviously that will impact him on the field.

He is not a Puyol type of player or leader. We always knew that. However he is growing in this department (as he gets older) and he does not necessarily need to be one. MAtS is doing that job already at the back.

There are drawbacks with being a "Ramos type of player". 25 red cards, selling the league and CdR each season (almost) and mostly only showing up for the CL (a recent thing too, not the case between 2005-2013) while making plenty of individual mistakes in the process as well and brain farts. There are no perfect CB's out there but Piqué has been one hell of a signing for us. €5 million back in 2008.:lol: Thanks for that one SAF.

I just want to remind people what Piqué has achieved while being a central piece in all of those achievements with the exception of his time in Man Utd but even there he played a role from the bench in the 2007-08 season and had 3 appearances and 2 goals in the CL that season. If not for that Vidic-Rio partnership and the likes of Brown playing great, he would have gotten more than those 13 games. He was actually performing well that season coming off a successful loan to Real Zaragoza the season prior.


Manchester United
Premier League: 2007–08
FA Community Shield: 2007
UEFA Champions League: 2007–08

Barcelona
La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Supercopa de España: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018
UEFA Champions League: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2015
FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015

Spain
FIFA World Cup: 2010
UEFA European Championship: 2012
UEFA U-19 European Championship: 2006

Individual
La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2008–09
La Liga Best Defender: 2009–10
La Liga Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2015–16
UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2014–15
UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2016–17
UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2012
UEFA Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016
FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
FIFA FIFPro World XI 2nd team: 2013, 2015, 2017
FIFA FIFPro World XI 3rd team: 2014, 2018
ESM Team of the Year: 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16

483 games and 44 goals for us. How many sending offs? Can't even recall a single one right now. 534 games and 49 goals in total. 102 games and 5 goals for Spain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Piqué

He still has 2-3 good seasons (at least 2) in him IMO. He never was a player that lived of his pace but more of his footballing IQ, timing and reading of the game. He struggles if he is left alone in 1-1 situations against pacy, technically gifted and agile attackers nowadays (32 years old so not a youngster anymore) even though he used to (for the most part) keep the likes of C. Ronaldo and Marcelo in his pocket alongside Alves back in the day when he was younger and quicker.
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You need to understand that Pique has a lot of flaws. On a physical view he is horrible 1 vs 1. His box game wasnt pretty either the most of his career. Lacks leadership (this year i think he been great in this area tbf, and i love him for it), and he had several brain farts through his career due to bad concentration. He doesnt need to be a leader (it means a lot tho, a real fucking lot) but consitency is vital, because other players can then rely on you, and Pique hasnt shown that. Not in a single season through out his career has he shown a level Vvd has shown the last 2 years.

right now we are seeing the best version of Pique I have seen, and thats the level i expected him to have after Puyol retired/injurie period. But we only have seen that in periods of 4-5 months, not a single season has he been consistent since Puyol-days, where his flaws were covered by a great defence, team and a great captain and partner.

if Pique is able to perform like he does now (more or less) for another 1-2 years, maybe he can be considered on the same level as Puyol and Ramos. But for now he is a step behind.
 
Joan

Joan

Well-known member
I dislike Ramos as the next guy, but his leadership alone puts him ahead. He is a grear, great player. For me, though, neither Pique nor Ramos is on Puyol's level. The heart, skill, passion, respect... uh. But I'm very subjective.
 
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