Pedri: Midfielder Magic, Golden Ball New Force

Club Barcelona is performing wonderful stories all the time, which is overwhelming. Lamacia's youth training camp continues to deliver talented stars. The 17-year-old Yamal has won many honors and is even compared with Messi. On the other side, Rafinia's redemption journey has long surpassed the conventional script, just like the return of Christ who transformed into a Brazilian winger; Lewandowski on the front line continues his stable output for ten years, so that people ignore this god forward and will turn 37 years old in a few months. Even outside the Green Field, the endless controversial remarks of the club and the repeated setbacks in returning to the Camp Nou can always provide media with topics of talk.

And amid the noise of this sound, Pedri always flows in deep water. For most of the 2024-25 season, this midfielder's influence is far less than that of the forward teammates wearing red and blue robes. However, when he ended the national derby with his dominant performance in the Spanish Cup del Rey final, the entire world football world had to re-examine his value.

In this gunpowder-filled five-goal battle staged at the Rakatuha Stadium, it was Barcelona's midfielder Magic who opened the door to victory with a thunder 20 yards away. Ironically, this exquisite goal became the most underrated moment of the night, but now the public opinion trend has finally begun to change, and the voices about Pedri's competition for this year's Golden Globe Awards are gradually forming momentum.

Neo Iniesta

At this moment, it is necessary to revisit a fact: Pedri is only 22 years old, but he has played in a total of 232 club games, plus 32 national team games. This genius, who was once regarded as a typical case of "premature overdrawing of talent" always writes legends under the shadow of injuries.

Although he has missed 88 games in his career due to various muscle and knee injuries, Pedri has never lowered his self-standard. The spirituality contained in his legs and brain allows him to protect the ball calmly and dispatch it casually. He could have chosen to retreat, but instead continued to break through the shackles of his body and bravely shoulder the burden.

Pedri admitted in an exclusive interview: "I have experienced all the situations. At first, there were overwhelming praise, and then criticisms were everywhere. Now praise is back. People say that I am as fragile as glass. These remarks are indeed hurtful. When criticism is too sharp, you just want to shut up the questioners with your performance, but more important than this is to regain the joy of playing football. At this moment, I finally regained the long-lost feeling.\"

Pedri's smooth style of playing football reminds people of Barcelona's legend Iniesta since childhood. After landing in Catalonia from Las Palmas in 2020, this comparison is even worse, but amazingly, he has always lived up to expectations.

Pedri recently revealed to UEFA: "By watching a large number of game videos and studying Iniesta and Xavi's technical movements, some traits will be subtle. You try to imitate them and practice diligently, but how easy is it to reach that level? So you must improve day after day, hoping to be able to compete with legends one day.\"

\"I often observe the highlights of my idol Iniesta, try to copy his signature movements, the way of handling in a specific scenario, or the skills of the ball protection. Sometimes I can successfully imitate it, sometimes I will inevitably hit a wall, but I will always do my best to do my best.\"

The lifeline of Barcelona

The only price paid by Barcelona in recent years is to be forced to let Messi out of the best player in football history. This is obviously not an insignificant loss. But unexpectedly, two years after Messi left the team, they regained the La Liga championship and built a vibrant youth army that unexpectedly accelerated the growth of young players despite financial restrictions on signings.

Next to Pedri and Yamal, Kubasi, Garvey, Fermin Lopez, Barde and Hrad Martin are flying high. Coach Frick continued the path of innovation of his former Xavi, and Pedri specifically pointed out that the care of the German coach is as important as his father: "He treats us like a father, always paying attention to the player's condition, and he will support him regardless of whether you appear or not. He is harsh on the outside, always stands firmly behind us when we are at a low point, and actively communicates and understands the problem.\"

\"Adaptation (high-level oppression system) is indeed difficult, especially when we recover from injuries in preseason, watching our teammates practice, but from the actual effect, the team executes very well. When we see the coach's tactical concepts work, the whole team will gain great confidence.\"

Under Frick, Barcelona regains his magic power and once again become one of the most threatening teams in Europe. The radical high-level oppression strategy has brought the team the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, with two other championships within reach. La Liga has 5 rounds left to lead by 4 points, and the Champions League is also making great progress. This new red and blue army is sweeping across the continent with its youth storm.

The art behind the data

In this team with luxurious offensive firepower, Pedri still delivered a brilliant answer: he made 52 appearances this season (second only to the hero of the King's Cup Rey), contributing 6 goals and 7 assists, and the last month left in the season.

In-depth analysis of the data can better demonstrate Pedri's extraordinary influence. According to statistics, this midfielder has ranked among the top ten in many key data in La Liga: expected assist value (4th), key pass (4th), offensive third zone pass (4th La Liga No. 1/5th La Liga No. 4), pass in the penalty area (8th La Liga No. 2/5th La Liga No. 8), progressive pass (3rd La Liga No. 1/5th La Liga No. 4), shot creation action (4th), goal creation action (10th), blocking (8th), touching number (2nd), successful pass (8th), progressive dribbling distance (6th) and average points contribution (8th).

This dazzling set of data is enough to tell everything, but Pedri is still not satisfied: \"What do I need to improve? There are too many things that can reduce mistakes, increase the number of goals, optimize the rhythm of offense and defense. There is nothing that cannot be improved.. \"

The Yuliang battle with Bellingham

Pedri's rise trajectory forms a wonderful reflection of Madrid's genius. When Barcelona insists on relying on La Macia to make blood, Real Madrid continues the team-building philosophy of introducing overseas superstars. This collision of ideas is the eternal charm of the national derby.

The White-Clothed Legion's midfield core Bellingham shines with Pedri in the final of the Cup of del Rey (Spanish media even gave the Englishman high praise), but the final winner of the trophy was Barcelona's magician. This showdown may become a preview of the midfield competition in the next decade.

Such a confrontation is born with dramatic tension. For neutral fans, Pedri's battle with Bellingham is like Messi and Ronaldo. The continuation of the generation; for the two geniuses, this will become the source of motivation to push each other through their limits. As Pedri said after winning the championship: "Great opponents make us stronger", and at this moment, the La Liga are witnessing the epic dialogue of a new generation of midfield masters. The legend is creating

Although young, Pedri has worn the Barcelona captain's armband many times. In Frick's locker room, he is the spiritual leader; on the green field, he is the tactical brain that thinks with his feet. The attack line with Yamal, Rafinia and Lewandowski makes Barcelona's four-champion this season is not a dream.

But Pedri remains awake: "Even if we fail to do it in the end, considering our journey to the present, this is not a failure. Of course, regrets are inevitable. \"

This passionate and strength Barcelona is sowing seeds to conquer La Liga and even Europe. Pedri and Yamal, who won the European Cup last summer, already have the championship genes of international competitions. They only need to win a few more key battles and they are likely to become the legendary red and blue legends.

Pedri declared before the final of the Cup of Kings: \"We don't need to be afraid of any opponents. As Barcelona, ​​our goal is to control every game. \" These words have revealed the confidence and pattern of future legends.

The midfielder regains the glory of the Golden Ball

Rodri won the Golden Ball Award in 2024, which seems to mark a new standard for the post-Merroe era award selection, and its substantial impact on victory is surpassing the data and becoming a more important consideration. When Manchester City's record declined this season due to the absence of this midfield core, it further confirmed the gold content of the Golden Ball Award. Although it is not the primary goal, Pedri is also looking forward to Paris' podium.

Pedri admitted: \"Rodri's award proves that the midfielder who controls the rhythm of the game can also win the golden ball. I am sincerely happy for him. In addition to his brilliant season performance, when the national team fights side by side with him, I always amazed at his ubiquitous dominance, organizing and dispatching, intercepting and stealing, and scoring. He perfectly interprets the omnipotence of modern midfielders. \"

\"It has always been my dream to hold up the golden ball, but now, we are more concerned about team honors. We will decide the ownership of three trophies in the next month. This is the top priority. It is not too late to talk about personal awards when the season ends. \"

If you want to stand out from the competition between teammates such as Yamal, Rafinia and Lewandowski, Pedri may need to contribute more decisive moments in the Champions League, but at least, the world football has finally begun to truly watch the genius of the midfield artist.