3 - Gerard Pique

[DonAndres]

Do you expect him to become the captain if there is a voting regime?

I can see Bartra(I see him becoming a WC CB in the future and staying for a very long time) coming out on top if it goes down to voting and he himself is quite young as well. You are right about that if he does well and stays many years then he will be viewed as a core member of the team and that some of the other players might not have the profile of a captain, but I honestly doubt that will stop them from becoming so and I hardly see the manager influencing the choices for the captaincy that much either to be honest.

So can he become the captain in the future? Yes, of course he can, but will he? I doubt it.

Well the voting thing is a bit hard to make judgement on since it hasn't been done yet. Hell right now given the way the players act to the media, I fully expect them to elect Messi or Iniesta as captain . The only figure I currently see as having a captain profile is Mascherano but he's going to be a backup so I don't see it happening. I'll bet that it's Iniesta even though he doesn't fit the role.

Bartra is a possibility but he certainly doesn't show it now. If the club gets a proper CB then it's likely that he won't even be a starter for a while whereas MATS only really has to "compete" with Bravo. Bartra loves the club but is more emotional than commanding. He never showed leadership even in his years at Barca B. Even in the case where he does break into the team as a starter, he'll be the 'understudy' of Pique and won't have any real character influence on those around him for a while. Both he and MATS are in a similar situation (being beneath everyone in terms of seniority currently) but MATS has a much faster route to the top than Bartra does.

If MATS is the #1 from the start, his influence on the pitch will be a lot bigger even early on given how he prioritizes organizing his defense and instructing the outfield players near him. In no time he'll have so much responsibility on the team and influence on his players (both midfield and defense) unlike Bartra who is still being nurtured. He'll have to control his high line, regroup his defensive structure after conceding attacks, and control the entire team on set pieces. This'll accelerate his rise to importance in the dressing room as he has to be in constant communication and giving orders. On a personal level he already has a knack of being a "leader figure", shown by how quickly he became one for BM despite being 19/20 years old at the time. That doesn't ensure that he'll become popular enough to win those "votes" but in due time he'll be looked up to.

Look how he barks orders at his defense Kahn-style, this was in 11/12 when he was 19 years old. After learning the language and getting acclimatized here, he'll have that type of authority. It'll take some years for him to become more respected and 'in charge' in the eyes of the entire team but I think that if he can be convincing enough they'll recognize that he's a true leader.

 

[BarçAjax8]

Could someone PLEEEEASE make a smiley of this...

LOL

 

[linetty]

Why I haven't seen this before ?

 

[BarçAjax8]

Why I haven't seen this before ?

hahaha It's great isn't it!

Google "Phil Jones Face" & then there's the Pique Phil Jones Face lol

 

[Egert]

I hate when he is skinhead.... But that pic and gif are amazing

 

[DonAK]

I think he was very good last sesaon although I reckon many might disagree, Nevertheless, I hope he continues to do well for us.

 

[Lomar1o]

i dont want to offend anyone but i think i have full right to express what i think and feel.

please god make it happen so that pique is sold and we bring in an actual defender

 

[linetty]

So Pique is not an actual defender? He's one of the best.

 

[Lomar1o]

So Pique is not an actual defender? He's one of the best.

i can't bring any arguments, i just don't like him and i don't consider him one of the best. he is good when the team is playing well, he is good when he has a better partner next to him, he is average or below average in most of other cases. of course i respect your opinion

 

[linetty]

Of course he looks average when the team is not solid. Everyone looks worse when the team doesn't click.

 

[Galning]

"I can't give any arguments. I just don't like him." Well, that's a first.

 

[Lomar1o]

"I can't give any arguments. I just don't like him." Well, that's a first.

1. clumsy
2. slow and don't even argue with this one, he's prolly slower than most of defenders which are considered top ones.
3. very weak in terms of heading (attacking wise), prolly even bartra wins more aerial challenges in the opponent's box. im sure he's worse at heading than top defenders
4. unreliable, every time he has the ball under pressure it feels like he's gonna misplace a pass or something, he's like pinto in that sense tbh
5. bad positional play, YES, this is true, because of his stupid positioning he has played many opponents onside, the most recent one is against netherlands, yes ramos should've been marking van persie but pique was WAY behind the defensive line. it wasn't the first time surely. oh and don't tell me that you don't feel that pique was badly positioned there.
6. his crosses from the back to the front are sometimes hilarious, hummels for example rarely misses them, pique prolly misses 50 percent of them.
p.s. i have to get this one off my chest: the most annoying thing about him is his moronic grin after the ref whistles for a foul when he commits one and thinks that it wasn't, i don't remember him reacting differently.

the positive things are his backheel passes to messi, i mean he can be really classy in attack, for example that goal against inter in the second leg of cl semi finals. but these kinds of things aren't even the main factors that define a good defender, it's just additional things which he is surprisingly good at, but as a defender? nah man, he isn't top class that's for sure.

i don't want to bring arguments because it doesn't matter, everyone will stand by their own opinions and i don't want and don't care if someone changes theirs, i just wanted to say that i want him out of barca since this is a forum where we express what we feel. it wouldn't surprise me if that story were true about pique being one of the players pep wanted out.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

1. clumsy
2. slow and don't even argue with this one, he's prolly slower than most of defenders which are considered top ones.

Fair enough, doesn't necessarily mean anything though (look at Mertesacker)

3. very weak in terms of heading (attacking wise), prolly even bartra wins more aerial challenges in the opponent's box. im sure he's worse at heading than top defenders

He's not very weak, he's not amazing at headers either but he's all right in the air

5. bad positional play, YES, this is true, because of his stupid positioning he has played many opponents onside, the most recent one is against netherlands, yes ramos should've been marking van persie but pique was WAY behind the defensive line. it wasn't the first time surely. oh and don't tell me that you don't feel that pique was badly positioned there.

Fullbacks are supposed to be ahead of the centerbacks, Ramos should have been level with Pique, not the other way around. And Pique wins quite a few offsides, he's got great positioning (you have to if you're a slow centerback).

6. his crossing from the back to the front are sometimes hilarious, hummels for example rarely misses them, pique prolly misses 50 percent of them.

I mean... that's just not true... last season Pique had 41/54 (76%) accurate longballs in the CL, 149/197 (76%) in La Liga, Hummels has 25/37 (68%) in the CL and 149/231 (65%) in the Bundesliga.

 

[Alarcón]

He's not very weak, he's not amazing at headers either but he's all right in the air

I like Piqué but this is a lie. He is very, very weak at heading in the opposition's box. I'm fairly sure his goal against Ajax this season was his first headed goal ever.

 

[Lomar1o]

>> Fair enough, doesn't necessarily mean anything though (look at Mertesacker)

his speed isn't world class clearly.

>> He's not very weak, he's not amazing at headers either but he's all right in the air

oh come on, defensively he's fine, attacking wise he is a noob, he's only better than busquets who is a complete noob with his head despite his height. i mean t.silva, puyol, hummels, varane, ramos, pepe, kompany, d.luiz, dante and others are better without a doubt. his heading ability isn't that of a world class players.

>> Fullbacks are supposed to be ahead of the centerbacks, Ramos should have been level with Pique, not the other way around. And Pique wins quite a few offsides, he's got great positioning (you have to if you're a slow centerback).

as far as i remember ramos and pique were both center-backs in that game. alba was a lb and azpilicueta was a rb i think. anyways pique and ramos were both CBs and pique played van persie onside. and i didn't get your logic, of course fullbacks are supposed to be ahead of centerbacks, but why should've ramos been level with pique?

>> I mean... that's just not true... last season Pique had 41/54 (76%) accurate longballs in the CL, 149/197 (76%) in La Liga, Hummels has 25/37 (68%) in the CL and 149/231 (65%) in the Bundesliga.

yeah statistically that maybe true, and when i wrote what i wrote i was only basing it on my judgement, and i still think im somehow right because pique's crosses amount to nothing, i don't remember any incisive pass from deep by pique, even if you search on youtube you'll barely find a video of it, on the other hand there are compilations of videos about hummel's passing.

anyways his passing isn't world class, his heading isn't world class, his tackling isn't world class, then just what makes him world class? i think he's nothing special and i'd HAPPILY swap pique with hummels, silva, even varane.