Two years ago, not many people knew the figure of Pedro Gonzalez Lopez aka Pedri. He’s just a shy teenager who just came to Barcelona. Ronald Koeman did not even know the player when he took over the coaching chair. The new coach noticed Pedri when he was told he had played more than 30 times in the Segunda Division. What makes this achievement special–for Koeman–is: he is only 17 years old.
In early 2019/20, Barcelona completed the transfer of Pedri from Las Palmas. His move is effective at the end of the season and Pedri is playing with his old club at Segunda Divison. He made his senior debut at the age of 16 and became the Canary Islands club’s youngest ever goalscorer.
Koeman was told that Pedri’s playing style is like that of Andres Iniesta. When he saw his play in training, the 58-year-old coach immediately realized that he had a new midfielder with special talent. At first, Barcelona wanted to loan Pedri to get playing minutes. Despite having just had an impressive season with Las Palmas, the player did not have high expectations. He is aware that a Barca midfield filled with players of the caliber of Frenkie de Jong to Miralem Pjanic can knock out players his age.
When he first arrived in Catalonia, Pedri even admitted that he did not mind being asked to strengthen the B team. “I hope that Barca B can gain promotion to the second division because playing there, as I just did with Las Palmas, when you are young, is good for you. You. I understand if they think I’m not ready in the first team, the best way might be to go on loan,” Pedri said in July 2020 as quoted by ESPN.
However, the plan to loan Pedri was soon abandoned as Koeman admired in the training session. In 2020/21, he was included in the first team. The Tenerife-born youth only missed one Blaugrana game in La Liga last season.
The Spanish national team coach, Luis Enrique was also attracted by Pedri’s talent. As he announced the final squad for Euro 2020, Pedri’s participation was no surprise. What was surprising, however, was how influential the player was in the finals.
Only 19 years old in November, Pedri has always appeared 90 minutes in three La Furia Roja matches in the group stage of the European Cup. Only three players have been given the same opportunity by Enrique: Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba and goalkeeper Unai Simon.
At Barcelona, Pedri is often used as a central midfielder or attacking midfielder. While in the Spanish national team, he has so far been installed in the center-left midfield post, being a tandem for Koke and Rodri or Sergio Busquets.
Pedri played a prominent role in the construction of his team’s attack. When Spain tried to build an attack from the back line, the 18-year-old player often came down to provide bait options. The player can then continue the progression with either a dribble or a pass.
Despite his young age, Pedri has shown excellence in positioning. He can scan the situation and make decisions quickly. This ability is valuable for ball possession-based team games that require a lot of rotation, such as the Spanish and Barcelona national teams.
The speed of reading the situation makes Pedri often escape from the opponent’s pressing. He carefully reads the space and potential movement available. In the final third, the Barcelona midfielder can be a creative outlet capable of finding gaps and exploiting them with clever passes.
As an attacking-oriented midfielder, the number of goals or assists is not much. With the Blaugrana, he only scored three goals and three assists in 37 La Liga games. In Euro 2020 so far, the player has not scored or assisted.
However, these statistics do not reflect Pedri’s vision and passing ability. In Barcelona or Spain, he is actively involved in the team movement sequences that produce opportunities. Pedri rarely makes a final ball that results in a goal, but he is capable of sending a pass that triggers the process of scoring a goal.
For example, when Spain met Georgia on March 28 last. In that match, he made a pass deep into the penalty box which surprised the opponent. La Furia Roja pounded Georgia who played tight with low blocks. In the 21st minute, Pedri got a pass on the left side near the center of the field from Bryan Gil. Prior to receiving the pass, he had scanned the situation in the final third and saw Ferran Torres and Alvaro Morata stuck either side of the back line.
At that time, Fabian Ruiz asked him to just send a back pass. However, thanks to the speed of scanning and finding potential movement, Pedri sent a pass from 30 meters to Ferran Torres at the end of the right side of the back line. His pass bounced smoothly, bypassing two blocks of Georgian pressing which contained nine players.
Georgia’s back line missed a pass that led to Torres in a position ready to shoot in the penalty box. Apart from shooting, the available option is to send a cross to Alvaro Morata. Pedri’s surprising pass made the Georgia players focus on the right side, so Morata is now in a free position. Unfortunately, Torres missed the pass and the ball raced past him, resulting in a goal kick.
Moments of genius like that are not just once or twice done by Pedri. It can be repeated. The most recent example was when Spain beat Slovakia 0-5. The player neither scored nor assisted, but his passing vision started La Roja’s three goals which were not own goals.
In the process of Spain’s second goal, for example. Starting from a corner that was successfully driven out, Pedri controlled the ball outside the penalty box. As soon as he received the ball, he immediately realized the space that could be attacked by Gerard Moreno. Pedri sent a gouged pass to the edge of the goalkeeper area. Moreno was able to control the ball and send in a cross which was completed by Aymeric Laporte.
The passes made by Pedri did not bear fruit. However, those passes can dismantle the opponent’s back line and trigger a sequence of actions that lead to dangerous opportunities. Luis Enrique’s decision to always play him is not surprising.
At Euro 2020, Pedri averaged 3.67 shots per game. In the Spanish squad, the frequency he recorded was only lower than the two players who often filled the winger posts, namely Pablo Sarabia and Gerard Moreno.
In addition to being good at passing, he has good ball control. When the opponent presses, Pedri’s awareness of the surrounding situation allows him to dodge. At Euro 2020, the ex-Las Palmas has made 268 touches, mostly in midfield and the final third, but has only lost the ball twice to tackles.
In addition, Pedri also wants to work hard for the sake of the team. The player is diligently involved in his team’s pressing scheme, making an average of 15 presses per game with the Spanish national team. His work ethic complements his creative talents.
Pedri is a valuable asset for the future of the Spanish national team. He is talented and willing to play effectively, not trying to find the spotlight alone. “The way [Pedri] plays, everything is really simple but very important. He doesn’t try to hog people or act a lot: just do the simple things and the right things. It is a gift. It’s not very common in football,” said Ruben Delgado, Pedri’s former coach at the Las Palmas youth team.
Pedri’s playing time is still long. Whether or not he reaches the level of Andres Iniesta depends on how he has lived his career and luck with injuries. However, before that, the work of the Spanish national team at Euro 2020 has not been completed and its contribution is worth waiting for.
ASL
