Golden Boy Pedri Gonzalez has the world at his feet. At just 19 years of age, the midfielder has Xavi’s complete confidence, and the manager, himself, has made no secret how much he admires the youngster’s capabilities.
Pedri is playing way ahead of his age; even the Osasuna coach, Jagoba Arrasate, couldn’t help but compliment the youngster.
“He will mark an era,” Arrasate had said and when you look at how well he has done in such a short period of time, the words sure make a lot of sense.
At 19, Pedri has his entire career ahead of him and he just wouldn’t find any better mentor than his current coach Xavi. The manager is churning the best out of him but the Spanish news outlet, SPORT, says there are a few things he wants the youngster to work on.
To begin with, the manager has keenly observed that the midfielder usually moulds himself as per the players he is surrounded with.
Take, for example, if someone likes to keep the ball more often, Pedri will react in a similar manner. On the other hand, if someone prefers quick one-touch football, the midfielder will provide services as required.
While there’s nothing wrong with that approach, Xavi has advised the 19-year-old to rather be himself. This basically means the manager wants him to save the extra touches even if the others around him do not really play that way. As such, the only intention is to make him even more vicious in the centre of the field.
The word of advised has come from years of experience as one just cannot forget the infamous tiki-taka generation of Spanish footballers.
While the roots of it were planted by Joan Cryuff, it was more or less implemented by players like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi.
After all, experience is the teacher of all things.
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