How Gerard Pique Has Returned to Form Under Enrique
While Barcelona’s attacking trident will get all attention, it seems one familiar face has been left out of the equation. Marcus Raymond explores Pique’s resurgence…
Much of the build-up for the Champions League final this Saturday will be focused on Barcelona’s otherworldly attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Their goal scoring exploits, ability to produce in big games and sheer joy they illicit all fully warrant the intense media publicity that surrounds them of course. But what has been almost as impressive this season has been the improvements Barcelona have made defensively.
It used to be an area that was considered their Achilles’ heel, a unit prone to lapses in concentration and individual mistakes. Not so this season as Barca have only conceded 39 goals in 59 games, including just 21 in La Liga while also keeping a remarkable 32 clean sheets in all competitions.
This progression can be put down to a number of things; the purchase of Ivan Rakitic has given the side a more robust feel in midfield alongside Sergio Busquets. Luis Enrique’s steadfast belief in his 4-3-3 formation – which he’s deployed in every game this season – has given the side a more defined defensive structure, while both Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen have been excellent in goal. The bulk of the credit though has to go to the back four, who have played the vast majority of the season together and excelled almost throughout.
Fullbacks Dani Alves and Jordi Alba have both been more compact and disciplined defensively, becoming slightly more selective about when they go forward, while also tucking in toward their centre backs when out of possession. Javier Mascherano has now played almost exclusively at centre back at Barcelona for over four seasons and looks far more confident and assured in that role nowadays.
However, at the heart of that unit, and therefore the central figure in Barcelona’s defensive improvements, has been Gerard Pique. Upon returning to his boyhood club after four years at Manchester United, Pique quickly rose to the top of game, arguably completing his ascension to the title of the world’s best centre back following Barcelona’s Champions League victory in 2011. Following three amazing years, Pique suffered three uneven ones, thanks to both inconsistent fitness and form. It seemed a possibility that the Spaniard would once again leave the club if Pep Guardiola had stayed past 2012, after their relationship soured during Guardiola’s last season at the club.
While he did commit his long term future to the club by signing a new five year contract last May, a poor performance in the World Cup increased the pressure on Pique to prove the growing number of doubters wrong this season, and he hasn’t disappointed.
More from Playing for 90
- Barcelona kick off Champions League against Royal Antwerp
- Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
- Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
- Barcelona put five past Real Betis
- Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
For the first time since the 2010/11 season he has been totally injury free and as such has been able to fulfil his role as the consistent leader and focal point of Barca’s back-line. Where in the past few seasons he has been guilty of mindless errors that have cost the side, this year he has simply avoided such lapses altogether, becoming increasingly trusted and reliable.
Where previously Pique didn’t need a second invitation to bring the ball out of defence, often being caught high up the field, this season he has stuck to his role in the team more diligently, relying on his excellent reading of the game and anticipation to break up play before simply recycling possession with an easy pass. In addition, better, more disciplined play from those around him has meant Pique has spent less time and energy trying to make up for the mistakes of others, instead focusing on what he has to do.
While Barcelona are still more vulnerable than most elite European teams to free kicks and crosses into the penalty area, Pique has become a more commanding, authoritative presence in the box, finally filling the void left by Carlos Puyol’s retirement. In open play his initial positioning has also improved, though much of the credit for that has to go to Enrique and his staff, who have the back four working as a genuine organised unit with good protection in front of them. Though in a more general sense as well, Pique is starting to look like the future Barcelona captain he was tagged as back in 2011.
In a fluid, team oriented sport like football, it’s always going to be hard to tell just how much of a perceived improvement by an individual is down to his own good work and how much is down to those around him playing better and more cohesively. In fact it is almost always a mixture of the two, particularly in a position like centre back where you can be easily exposed (and therefore look far worse than you actually are) if not given the proper protection.
Pique’s case seems to be just that; the environment around him has improved significantly this season, but he too is deserving of a lot of credit for the way he has played, as well as the effect he has had on those around him. This Saturday, if Barca’s lethal trio are as razor sharp as they have looked in recent months, Pique will once again be the footnote he has been for much of the season. However, he becomes crucial to the outcome if it is a close game. How glad Catalonia will be for the improvements he has made then.