“What Pedri did at 18, I haven’t seen in anyone, whether at the Euros, the World Cup or the Olympics. It goes beyond all logic. » Despite the elimination on penalties against Italy in the semi-finals of the Euro, Luis Enrique is optimistic. The coach of La Roja saw the future of Spanish football in the person of his frail midfielder, barely of age, who plays with experience “of a 40 year old guy”according to teammate Alvaro Morata.
In fact, Pedri blew its 20 candles on November 25, two days after the entry of Spain in its World Cup against Costa Rica (victory 7-0). A kid then, but capable of assuming responsibilities, even in times of crisis with his club. And not just any. At the end of October, FC Barcelona was corrected by Bayern Munich (3-0) at Camp Nou and recorded their elimination from the Champions League from the group stage for the second consecutive year.
Appointed to comment on this failure in the face of journalists, Pedri delivers a lucid analysis. “After what we saw tonight, it is clear that we are not ready to compete. We are missing a lot of things: more calm on the ball, looking for the right option, we lose too many balls… A lot of things. »
Still under reconstruction and still orphaned by Lionel Messi, Barça is now relying on a boy born in 2002 to ensure its crisis communication. The sign of the dimension taken in just a few months by the native of Tegueste, a modest town in the north of the island of Tenerife.
“Pedri has football in him”
In this wine-growing corner of the Canaries, which has remained far from mass tourism, the new emblem of FC Barcelona has long passed under the radars of the major regional clubs. “Not because he didn’t have the necessary talent, but because he was always very humble and discreet. He wasn’t the typical gifted guy who likes everyone talking about him.”says Adrian Albeniz, its former leader at Juventud Laguna, Pedri’s teenage club.
In Tegueste, the club of his city – a time directed by his father – sports the slogan: “The star is the team. » Pedro Gonzalez Lopez, by his full name, has always made it his own. All his former coaches describe a united player, passionate about the game and always ready to make his partners shine. Characteristics which very early on earned him comparison to Andres Iniesta, his idol at Barça, a club supported by his grandfather, founder of a pena (group of supporters) on the island.
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