8 - Pedri

I sometimes feel sad for Ronaldo.

Luck is something that trumps everything. His luck would have him playing alongside the GOAT. A decade earlier or now, CR7 would be clear of any competition.
 
Quite the opposite. A decade earlier he would be competing in an era that was all about international football, big moments and style with R9, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Figo. "Oh, you poached hattricks against Elche and Eibar but went invisible in 3 World Cup knockouts in a row" didn't fly back then. The masses were more attracted to the big events (WC, Euros). Massive weekly league viewership with daily Youtube highlights wasn't what it is today. Few big moments carried your entire legacy, see Zidane whom no one remembers for destroying Getafe.

Valencia won La Liga in 2001 with 51 goals scored. RM scored 69. He wouldn't be playing for heavily buffed teams that are expected to score 120 goals a season to inflate his stats.

If anything, Messi elevated his status because media invented "Messi and Ronaldo". Like poop under the shoe, it's "Messi AND Ronaldo". So when Messi is at #1, the uninformed casuals automatically put him at #2. Yet, if he played 10 years earlier, he wouldn't be even anywhere near Zidane or R9 with his international no shows, let alone funny claims like "the 2 GOATS", as if Cristiano could even tie Maradona's shoe laces.

I think he is super lucky that he played in this era. No other era in football history where a player who can't dribble, pass, playmake at elite level and doesn't show up in any international tournament would enter a "GOAT" debate.
 
Cool stat

Pedri González has now played 250 games for FC Barcelona, and he's the second youngest player to do so for the club, only behind Lionel Messi.
 
Andresito said:
Cool stat

Pedri González has now played 250 games for FC Barcelona, and he's the second youngest player to do so for the club, only behind Lionel Messi.
Click to expand...

According to data provided by Oriol Jové of RAC-1, Messi played his 250th match at the age of 23 years and 241 days, whereas Pedri was 23 years and 288 days old last Wednesday when he faced Feyenoord. Following them, the youngest players to reach the 250-match mark in the azulgrana jersey were Xavi (24 years and 99 days), Iniesta (24 years and 253 days), and Sergio Busquets (25 years and 96 days).


To put things into perspective, Yamal has already played 156 games and he's only 19 years and 2 months old. If he stays healthy he'll break Messi record for 2+ years.

Insane really and why I'm always saying we should manage his minutes better.
 
I hope he balls out in the CL this year, he needs a stand out performance in a KO tournament more so than any of our young players who are on the bubble of greatness.

Yamal has the euros
Cuba the WC.
 
I would say right now he is the single most important player in the team. Not only because of his impact but because there is nobody on the bench who can do his job. Take him out and the midfield becomes disjointed immediately.
 
Probably but having Rodri should make the hit of eventually missing Pedri much lesser. I also hope Olmo or Xavi are the ones who would replace him in case of injury/rotation, not Bernal and of course not Gavi. FDJ can't return soon enough, we would be well covered if he came back and could really rotate properly which all of those 3 need with their injury records. We could also play all 3 together when we're leading and want to close out the game with keeping the ball.
 
2nd worst player on the pitch after Eric.

I was hoping Gavi or Xavi would be subbed on, but it seems Flick prefers Bernal.
 
He looks a bit slow and sloppy. I think he ball hoggs sometimes and gets pushed around by stronger opponents. He's still untouchable of course but that's what's he's been projecting.
 
Looked so much better when the intensity dropped in the second half. A bit worrying how badly he is neutralized when the game moves outside his comfort zone.
 
gol said:
Looked so much better when the intensity dropped in the second half. A bit worrying how badly he is neutralized when the game moves outside his comfort zone.
Click to expand...

All current active midfielders suffer to some extent when the opponent is close and aggressive, on fresh legs, but for Pedri tough, the drop is too big for a world class player standard. He has to work on this for sure to get to the next level.

As I said in the past, if he won't work on it and improve here, he's gonna have a problem making the difference in CL later stages. Because the intensity at that level is very high and often lasts full 90 minutes, not 45, not 60. Quick thinking and quick feet is obligatory. He doesn't have the physique to fight off defenders and ride challenges, so he has to be quick.
 
He has suboptimal stamina, which will be an issue even if he adjusts his game.

In games with high intensity, he will have to curb his general workrate in order to remain sharp in possession and chance creation, which is his most important function. But when our game requires constant pressing, any slack in general workrate will be an issue.

It is really crucial that Frenkie becomes available at some point. Neither Gavi nor Bernal seem to be reliable options unless to offer relief when we are already in cruising mode.
 
gol said:
He has suboptimal stamina, which will be an issue even if he adjusts his game.

In games with high intensity, he will have to curb his general workrate in order to remain sharp in possession and chance creation, which is his most important function. But when our game requires constant pressing, any slack in general workrate will be an issue.

It is really crucial that Frenkie becomes available at some point. Neither Gavi nor Bernal seem to be reliable options unless to offer relief when we are already in cruising mode.
Click to expand...
Bro looks dead in the face even at the first plays lol. Pale and exhausted.
 
When Pedri plays shit people just say he's tired

It's ok, he is getting a lot of rest this season

Last game vs Sevilla, he was shit first half and good in second. So how was he tired?

He is just not in form. He will come back. He has already provided some great assists to Raphinha and created chances. I expect him to step up creativity wise now that Rodri is there
 
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