BARCELONA – Spain arrived at the European Championship with an uproarded environment, caught fire after its first two draws against Sweden and Poland and disputes the quarterfinals this Friday with impeccable spirit, silenced critics (even for the moment) and expectation around the team at its peak. Luis Enrique played it with an army of rookies and his bet has no possible discussion today.
Up to 17 footballers are debutants in the final phase of a great tournament of nations and 15 of them attended the Eurocup having played 15 or fewer matches with a Spanish team that has Sergio Busquets as their guide on the field, the coach as the unquestionable leader … And Pedri turned into the great hope to become a reference footballer of the future. Already with a flavor of the present.
“He is compared to Iniesta and those are big words … You are not doing him any favors, but he is making a difference at 18 years old, he shows a brutal football maturity, decision-making is always good and that is the most difficult thing in the game. football “warned Xavi Hernández in conversation with Mundo Deportivo when referring to the player who has managed to put everyone in agreement.
A Spain so often seen from the Real Madrid-Barcelona dichotomy has managed in an unusual way to get rid of that eternal face to face to become a homogeneous group in which the absence of meringues footballers adds a very less weight of Barça. .. And among all this highlights the emergence of the kid who overnight has come to personalize all the dreams and aspirations of this new selection that has been taken from Luis Enrique’s sleeve.
“He plays as if he were 40 years old … There are players who need a long time to manage pressure and others, like him, take it as standard,” explained Álvaro Morata during an interview with Cadena Ser talking about the Canarian midfielder.
“Very few have his personality and attitude and I am convinced that he will be one of the best in the history of Spain,” said the Juventus forward, who, like the rest of the squad, is devoted to the young Barcelona footballer.
“He is a unique player, totally different,” said Luis Enrique the day before the match against Croatia, in which Pedri again gave a master class. “He seems like a shy footballer, but he’s sneering. He’s cool even when he plays table tennis,” summed up the coach, perhaps the most convinced of giving him a responsibility that could scare many and that this 18-year-old took with a coldness and conviction that has surprised.
Almost eleven months ago, at the end of August 2020, Ronald Koeman did not have them all with him. He advised Pedri on a loan to get blanked out, noting that at the juncture of that Barcelona a 17-year-old boy would have a very difficult time getting noticed … And in just one week, maybe two, the speech changed absolutely.
He began the course playing 20 minutes in the premiere against Villarreal, he repeated in Vigo (against Celta) and already added half an hour in the third match against Sevilla. He made his start as a starter in Getafe on October 17 and closed the league season only missing the last day in Eibar because the club, with the coach’s consent, granted him an early vacation.
Nothing strange considering that he added 59 games between Barça and the national team and it was feared, as is feared again now, a physical and mental fatigue that could take its toll … Can it? It has not seemed so at all so far in view of his performance in the four games played by Spain, which has totaled adding the 390 possible minutes, the only one with Unai Simón.
Thursday marked the nine years of the last great title of the Red. In Kiev, 1,200 kilometers south of Saint Petersburg, Spain won the 2012 Eurocup by exhibiting (4-0) against Italy and Pedri, a nine-year-old boy, enjoyed that success in front of the television without suspecting that time later would fly by. your surroundings.
“He is very intelligent and knows exactly what each of his teammates needs. He reminds me so much of Iniesta … He always makes good decisions” summarized a few months ago Pepe Mel, the coach who made him debut at 16 with the first team of Las Palmas and advised his signing to both Betis and Real Madrid, incredulous at the null vision that both verdiblancos and meringues had and which Barcelona took advantage of to bet on him and sign him only two weeks after his debut with the yellows.
The rest is known history … and history to be written. Soccer Spain looks in the mirror through Pedri’s eyes. An 18-year-old boy with the soul of a veteran willing to lead La Roja to the semifinals of a Eurocup that, now, has already given the whole fanbase to the cause.