I would like to take a moment to give some due credit to FC Barcelona's two brightest emerging stars: Pedro Rodriguez and Sergio Busquets.
After the last month, I am beginning--just beginning--to think that all the awful headers that led to goals from Busi and all the invisibility in spite of goals from Pedro has been worth it.
Fans knew of Pedro Rodriguez last season as the young boy wearing the shirt with the really high number, who came on in the 89th or 90th minute of every tenth or fifteenth game, most famously for Andres Iniesta, with smiling applause, in the last gasps of the Champion's League final in Rome. That was all we really knew, though, and far was it from us to expect that he would usurp Bojan's position this season. However, he was perhaps the stand-out performer in the pre-season, as if transformed, and it became apparent that not only had he firmly overtaken Bojan on the pecking order, but he had just about nudged an aging Henry out of his place as well. This season, he has been Mr. Goals, popping up time and time again to put away all kinds of one-on-ones and crackers from outside the box. But the question has been: is his goal-scoring form enough to keep a player with the experience and finesse of Henry on the bench? Aside from his goals, he has often suffered from positional ill-discipline, that leaves him chasing plays, coming into position too late, and tracking back on defense only inconsistently. Though Henry has not exactly been putting them away this season, a trademark of his play since last season has been his defensive contributions and his ability to either hold up the ball or put in a quick run and cross, skills that come with years of playing at the top level.
Still, the halfway mark of the season has passed, and Guardiola, who in my opinion has not made a seriously wrong decision in his short tenure, seems to be grooming his canteranos to contribute to the future of the club. In retrospect, it seems naive to have ever thought that when Pep spoke of needing to make changes to the plan, he was only referring to a replacement of Eto'o with Ibrahimovic. But I do not know if anyone expected him to make these particular changes. Though, indeed, it makes sense. Henry and Yaya were Rijkaard purchases in the former manager's final year, while Pedro and Busi were Guardiola promotions from the B-squad that he himself managed--why should we have expected something different?
The question remains: are the apparent successors playing well enough to take over for their predecessors as completely as they are? I will venture to guess that they are. Though we will never know how Yaya and Henry (especially the latter) would have played with more time on the field, the fact is that they are not playing well. Meanwhile, both Busi and Pedro, their flaws in the first half of this season duly noted, have rapidly improved in recent games.
Pep has always defended Busi, and the rumor mill tells us that the manager sees a bit of himself in Busi. When fans were attacking him for heading goal-kicks agonizingly backward into our own box, Pep pointed out that Busi played well "tactically." After awhile, Busi's positioning and teamwork with the players around him became more cohesive and systematic. And then, he stopped making mistakes--in fact, he became the player that made the simple passes and the simple interceptions, without garnering any highlights of his own. He is still making the simple passes, but every once in a while, he sprinkles in a lob to a running Messi or two. Sometimes when he tries this, he gives up the ball easily, but then he goes back to the simple game and humbly allows Xavi and Iniesta to do the fancy stuff, which is healthy. His positioning has not only been predictable for his teammates lately, it has been more fluid and mobile, and he has the odd appearance in all parts of the field without looking incompetently out-of-place.
Most recently, I have noticed his flourishing amount of tackles. In the last two games--at Stuttgart and Malaga--Busi racked up a ton of impressive tackles. If you watch those games again and only watch Busi, you will see more moments of chasing-down players, standing blocks, sliding tackles, and pass-interceptions than anyone else on the field. In this last round of international matches, Busi started for Spain against France and played all 90 minutes, and in the last twenty minutes or so, he played alongside Marcos Senna. Though Pep may compare himself to Busi, but in my opinion, if he continues in this vein, with tons of safe-and-sound tackling, positioning, and passing, Busi in the future will be more comparable to Senna.
Pedro has not dominated his position on the left as completely as Busi has in his position, partly because of Pep's experimentation with Iniesta on that side. However, his performance against Malaga was very good, and showed that he is learning to cure the problems that he is criticized for. To be clear, he is not played strictly on the left, as Guardiola has opted to play Messi closer to the middle some of the time. Against Malaga, Pedro played substantial amounts of time on the left and right. In both situations, he did well to drop back into defense when necessary, and, especially when he played on the right against a fullback that was admittedly having an awful day against he, Alves, and Messi at different times, he showed quick thinking and sprightly movement to beat his man more than a few times and deliver good crosses. Best of all, he was playing very well with his teammates and allowing them to make good plays.
The second goal against Malaga shows his progression very well. Pedro was the one who initially earned the ball back, as Malaga cleared the ball toward the left midfield. Maxwell was caught upfield, but Pedro sprinted back to win the 50-50 ball, then do a little shimmy to escape pressure and pass back to the defense. Pique gave to Xavi, who gave to Messi, who ran in and gave to Ibrahimovic, who touched it on to Pedro, who had run all the way back to Malaga's box. He took two touches, and gave it back to Ibra, spotting his run to the other side of the box. Ibra gave to Maxwell, who flicked it back to Pedro. Pedro had his back to goal, but shielded the ball from his marker, and, with two touches, put it back into the midfield to Xavi. One pass and two touches later, Messi has a goal that Pedro had a three-part role in that showed good tracking back, positional discipline, good and quick decision-making, and humility. Oh yeah, he scored a goal from 25 or 30 yards, too, and I think he is the only one on the team that does that from the run of play. Pedro does not have a place on the Spanish National Team yet, but if he keeps putting in these performances, he could just come off the bench in the 90th minute of the World Cup Final.
Of course, there is no way of knowing if what we see now is a reliable indicator of real growth or just a patch of good form that could go with any injury. Henry and Yaya are both excellent players, and Henry commented today how difficult it is to play "25 minutes here and 15 minutes there". With their experience and demonstrated quality, they could displace their competitors in the matter of a few games if given the chance. However, I doubt this will happen: Guardiola's decisions show that he has a project in the making, and for better or for worse, Henry and Yaya will probably stay on the bench and only get Guardiola-style 80th- or 85th-minute substitutions when Busi or Pedro (or Iniesta) are available. I am not totally sold, and it would bring tears to my eyes to see Henry find one last burst of form at the top of the soccer world, but there are many reasons to be optimistic about Pedro and Busi.
Still, the halfway mark of the season has passed, and Guardiola, who in my opinion has not made a seriously wrong decision in his short tenure, seems to be grooming his canteranos to contribute to the future of the club. In retrospect, it seems naive to have ever thought that when Pep spoke of needing to make changes to the plan, he was only referring to a replacement of Eto'o with Ibrahimovic. But I do not know if anyone expected him to make these particular changes. Though, indeed, it makes sense. Henry and Yaya were Rijkaard purchases in the former manager's final year, while Pedro and Busi were Guardiola promotions from the B-squad that he himself managed--why should we have expected something different?
The question remains: are the apparent successors playing well enough to take over for their predecessors as completely as they are? I will venture to guess that they are. Though we will never know how Yaya and Henry (especially the latter) would have played with more time on the field, the fact is that they are not playing well. Meanwhile, both Busi and Pedro, their flaws in the first half of this season duly noted, have rapidly improved in recent games.
Pep has always defended Busi, and the rumor mill tells us that the manager sees a bit of himself in Busi. When fans were attacking him for heading goal-kicks agonizingly backward into our own box, Pep pointed out that Busi played well "tactically." After awhile, Busi's positioning and teamwork with the players around him became more cohesive and systematic. And then, he stopped making mistakes--in fact, he became the player that made the simple passes and the simple interceptions, without garnering any highlights of his own. He is still making the simple passes, but every once in a while, he sprinkles in a lob to a running Messi or two. Sometimes when he tries this, he gives up the ball easily, but then he goes back to the simple game and humbly allows Xavi and Iniesta to do the fancy stuff, which is healthy. His positioning has not only been predictable for his teammates lately, it has been more fluid and mobile, and he has the odd appearance in all parts of the field without looking incompetently out-of-place.
Most recently, I have noticed his flourishing amount of tackles. In the last two games--at Stuttgart and Malaga--Busi racked up a ton of impressive tackles. If you watch those games again and only watch Busi, you will see more moments of chasing-down players, standing blocks, sliding tackles, and pass-interceptions than anyone else on the field. In this last round of international matches, Busi started for Spain against France and played all 90 minutes, and in the last twenty minutes or so, he played alongside Marcos Senna. Though Pep may compare himself to Busi, but in my opinion, if he continues in this vein, with tons of safe-and-sound tackling, positioning, and passing, Busi in the future will be more comparable to Senna.
Pedro has not dominated his position on the left as completely as Busi has in his position, partly because of Pep's experimentation with Iniesta on that side. However, his performance against Malaga was very good, and showed that he is learning to cure the problems that he is criticized for. To be clear, he is not played strictly on the left, as Guardiola has opted to play Messi closer to the middle some of the time. Against Malaga, Pedro played substantial amounts of time on the left and right. In both situations, he did well to drop back into defense when necessary, and, especially when he played on the right against a fullback that was admittedly having an awful day against he, Alves, and Messi at different times, he showed quick thinking and sprightly movement to beat his man more than a few times and deliver good crosses. Best of all, he was playing very well with his teammates and allowing them to make good plays.
The second goal against Malaga shows his progression very well. Pedro was the one who initially earned the ball back, as Malaga cleared the ball toward the left midfield. Maxwell was caught upfield, but Pedro sprinted back to win the 50-50 ball, then do a little shimmy to escape pressure and pass back to the defense. Pique gave to Xavi, who gave to Messi, who ran in and gave to Ibrahimovic, who touched it on to Pedro, who had run all the way back to Malaga's box. He took two touches, and gave it back to Ibra, spotting his run to the other side of the box. Ibra gave to Maxwell, who flicked it back to Pedro. Pedro had his back to goal, but shielded the ball from his marker, and, with two touches, put it back into the midfield to Xavi. One pass and two touches later, Messi has a goal that Pedro had a three-part role in that showed good tracking back, positional discipline, good and quick decision-making, and humility. Oh yeah, he scored a goal from 25 or 30 yards, too, and I think he is the only one on the team that does that from the run of play. Pedro does not have a place on the Spanish National Team yet, but if he keeps putting in these performances, he could just come off the bench in the 90th minute of the World Cup Final.
Of course, there is no way of knowing if what we see now is a reliable indicator of real growth or just a patch of good form that could go with any injury. Henry and Yaya are both excellent players, and Henry commented today how difficult it is to play "25 minutes here and 15 minutes there". With their experience and demonstrated quality, they could displace their competitors in the matter of a few games if given the chance. However, I doubt this will happen: Guardiola's decisions show that he has a project in the making, and for better or for worse, Henry and Yaya will probably stay on the bench and only get Guardiola-style 80th- or 85th-minute substitutions when Busi or Pedro (or Iniesta) are available. I am not totally sold, and it would bring tears to my eyes to see Henry find one last burst of form at the top of the soccer world, but there are many reasons to be optimistic about Pedro and Busi.
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