DonAK
President of FC Barcelona
I think it's his terrible pace. Tremendously slow player.
You're exaggerating. Not going to say he's Speedy Gonzalez, but he's not that slow. Average pace.
I think it's his terrible pace. Tremendously slow player.
You're exaggerating. Not going to say he's Speedy Gonzalez, but he's not that slow. Average pace.
His sprint pace is fine but there is something incredibly feeble and droopy about the way he moves.
Ozil made 30 assists in one season. Pedri has 0 assits in 18 games this season and 1 assist in 22 games last season. Ozilitis is the last thing he is suffering.He's reverted to a player who is afraid to shoot again after positive showings in spring. Someone like Musiala or Bellingham cunt the ball into the net after that Lewy lobbed pass, but Pedri decides to be cute and dances around the ball, giving a horizontal pass in the process inside the box.
He's suffering from Ozilitis.
Once again a vague and flimsy presence. Pops up and does something nice, then disappears for 10 minutes. Doesn't really push tempo or threat. Rather waits around for the right situation to appear. Which it often doesn't in football.
There was once a comparison between Modric and Kovacic in Croatian papers.
And someone wrote how the difference is that they both have an eye for incredible passes, BUT:
1. Modric will make one magic pass and in the next minute he will ask for the ball again and he will try to make another magic pass. And he will repeat it over and over consistently for 90 minutes
2. while with Kovacic, he will do one magic pass and then he'll disappear for the next 30 minutes. Then he'll pop up with one magic flick again and disappear again
In a way, Pedri is something like Kovacic.
He has the ability to make magic and this is why people love him.
But he:
1. doesn't do it consistently again and again over 90 minutes
2. and he also goes MIA without touching the ball for 5 minutes at times and then getting rid of it with a one-touch pass. He is probably a midfielder with the least touches and ball in his feet at Barca in the last 30 years.
When Quaresma was here in 2003/04, Rijkaard said something similar about him: "When he has the ball and makes some magic, he is the best player in the world. The problem is that he is invisible in other 87 or 88 minutes of the match."
About Pedri, there is no doubt that he has skills and magic in his boots.
The question is whether the consistency of his influence and magic is good enough for a level of team which Barca aspires to be.
And of course, there is a question regarding his physique against opponents who are NOT from La Liga (who is physically the lightest league out of Top5 European leagues).
But physicality is my main concern with him. He looks too casual and laid back, also pretty small but not with gavi's aggression. Against la Liga he is already good but he will need some more grit against high tempo, high strength opponents, or he won't be able to make plays.
Same. It's because other small players have some redeeming physical qualities, like speed, pitbull like explosion, agility, more stamina etc. Take Gavi and Verratti. Pedri is small, but also slow and physically weak. Not even his stamina is good considering smaller players usually thrive in this area.
He has to do something to hold his own vs bigger players. Best model would be Bernardo Silva. Small, not too strong, not fast, but he does well enough to hold his own in the toughest league physically, because his mentality is top notch.