Midfielders, Barcelona formula for life | Football | Sports

Xavi admires Rodri, the cornerstone of Manchester City, and asked to sign Zobimendi, Real Sociedad’s reference, when he learned of Busquets’ departure in the summer. He also chose Kimmich (Bayern). But financial constraints prompted the club to sign Oriol Romeu, a former Masia player, from Girona. Romeo is no longer a starter after a good start alongside De Jong. The Dutchman was injured and collapsed in the room…

Xavi admires Rodri, the cornerstone of Manchester City, and asked to sign Zobimendi, Real Sociedad’s reference, when he learned of Busquets’ departure in the summer. He also chose Kimmich (Bayern). But financial constraints prompted the club to sign Oriol Romeu, a former Masia player, from Girona. Romeo is no longer a starter after a good start alongside De Jong. The Dutchman was injured and the malfunction in the engine room was further exacerbated by Pedri’s previous absence. The Tenerife man reunited with De Jong – they have met in just two matches – and once recovered, both got along well with Gundogan: all three played a brilliant game against Atletico, as usually happens when the champions are the midfielders. The key to the Barcelona match.

The Xavi-Busquets-Iniesta triangle has given way to a connection of three figures: Gundogan-De Jong-Pedry. There is no longer much talk about the midfielder, but rather about the Gundogan-De Jong duo. He also does not play a double pivot role like the one De Jong played at Ajax with Sean. The Dutchman’s game is much less positional than that of Busquets, as was already noted when they coincided in the team and their compatibility was discussed, a controversy that at one point sparked the times when Barcelona fans were on the verge of losing Xavi due to their desire to acquire him. To be Guardiola’s replacement on the field. When the dispute ended

Replacing Busquets has been so complicated that sometimes it seems as if two players are needed to perform the duties of an Inter Miami player – one in defense and the other in attack. Busquets was a fixture of the centre-half position, identified with the number 4, with which Cruyff built Barcelona starting in 1988 with Milla. Different players like Coman, Guardiola, Edmilson, Marquez, Toure, the choice was based on where the match should start and the drawing that started from 4-3-3. Until Neymar’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain made it possible to bring back a fourth midfielder, the alternative proposed by Valverde and now Xavi.

The current coach moved from playing with two wingers to betting on a false 4-4-2 plan: Pedri, Busquets, De Jong and Gavi. Barcelona won the Super Cup and the League because of its control over the areas of Lewandowski and Ter Stegen and the square arranged in the middle of the field: Busquets and De Jong at the base, Pedri and Gavi on the peripheries. Busquets’ refusal to continue and Gavi’s injury have meant De Jong, Gundogan and Pedri are joined together while Romeu, Firmin and Sergi Roberto wait on the bench. Pedro opens up on the right wing and Joao Felix on the left, the same wing that Joao Cancelo runs up, while on the right side Kounde goes deeper because the Frenchman works better on the wing and Araujo defends and presses forward very well as a centre-back – like Puyol did, side by side. With Iñigo Martinez or Christensen.

“The midfielders give the team a lot of character,” Xavi said after the win over Atletico. “They’ve taken a step forward. Maybe.” [De Jong-Gündogan-Pedri] “They have been together for only three matches – now four – and the mechanism requires time,” the coach added in a statement expressing the area of ​​improvement he expects from the three and their pairing, also with goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, the substitute. Injured Ter Stegen.. The team deployed against Atletico in a more compact way and was more dynamic than in previous matches, more aggressive as well – it regained pressure and recovery after the loss – and quick in circulation due to the fluidity provided by the three midfielders, since the champions were with Porto, the match that allowed Xavi to find the line-up and in which Pedri covered many kilometers: 13.5.

“When you give the ball to De Jong and Gundogan, it is very difficult for them to lose it. Having them by your side is a luxury. “I really enjoy when De Jong is by my side and I miss him very much when he is not there,” Pedri repeated on Sunday in Montjuic. The Tenerife native directed the match. And to clarify it, Gundogan’s intervention was decisive in terms of smoothness and rhythm, and De Jong did not stop introducing himself and spreading himself, knowing that he had been offered on previous occasions in the market to settle Barcelona’s accounts. The three never played in parallel in an asymmetrical formation, they took turns in launching the ball, They delved deep from different heights on the pitch, turning and understanding each other well, accompanied by the intensity of the centre-backs Araujo and Christensen.

The calculated data of merit are no longer the distances traveled, but the reliability of the pass and the steals of the ball: Gundogan and De Jong recovered the ball six times and made tackles 103 and 102 times respectively with a success rate of more than 80%, while Pedri was the most impressive for his success in completing the move: 58%. The trio is expected today against Girona. The challenge is to continue his success in the league and in Europe. The concern is no longer focused on the division, but rather on not scoring a goal due to Lewandowski’s drought. It is not surprising that the club wants to replace the signing of Gavi with striker Vitor Roque and not with a midfielder that Xavi likes.

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