Some days ago Luis Enrique made some striking statements about Gavi: “With him I have the feeling that he is a great unknown to Spanish football, even to those who are close to him. He not only runs, he is very dangerous with the ball. He is a pure inside player and has a goal, you will see him in the future”. The coach, who opted for Gavi when he was still a project in the Barcelonahas succeeded. Fought He claims to have been “watching videos of him for years. When people see him play in the Barça, just see a defensive player. Is much more”.
total player
The Asturian asks him, rather demands him, to be a “total player”. That he participates in defensive work, but also joins the attack. As a result of this came his first goal with the national team in Prague. when it was worst spain, against a closed Czech Republic and with the score against, the azulgrana appeared in the area, changed the ball on his feet and hit it low looking for the strain of the post to score the tie. Goal that makes him the youngest international to score with Spain. Gavi gets up early a week Ansu the record leaving it at 17 years and 304 days.
???????? This guy did ???????????????????????????????? tonight in Prague.
???????? At 17 years and 304 days, Gavi beats @ANSUFATI and becomes the youngest scorer ever in the @SeFutbol.
ℹ️ https://t.co/xwIN7hRye3 #VamosSpain | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/78lAoXPwMO
– Spanish Soccer Team (@SeFutbol) June 5, 2022
One of the keys to moving forward Gavi in these games is that in the absence of Pedri, Luis Enrique He has asked for more presence in attack. An irreversible order. Namely, Fought he wants that confidence that he has gained offensively to maintain it when Pedri returns, who will settle with Gavi and Busquets the core of the selection in the world. Because Gavi has much more freedom in Spain than at Barça. The Spaniard fell in love with his impudence and his aggressiveness, both defensively and offensively.
The Swiss coach Murat Yakin, highlights the intelligence of the azulgrana: “It’s incredible that at that age he’s capable of managing the concepts of the game like that, assimilating so many things at just 17 years old.” The only one who relativizes Gavi’s explosion is his partner Busquets, who asks for time: “I don’t see the things I’ve seen in other colleagues I’ve had. He still has a long way to go to understand the positional game that we are trying to do and I don’t know if it is because it hasn’t been fully instilled in him or because he is still very young”.
The Gavi of Barça and the Gavi of the national team are the same player. If some differences are observed, these lie in the different context in which he plays, although the positional role played by the footballer is usually the same: inside midfielder, either on the right or on the left. At Barça he has even played as a winger, both with Koeman as with Xavi.
Gavi he seems to shine more in red than in azulgrana, although his debut campaign has been extraordinary. At 17 years old, and after making his debut on matchday three, he has been able to play 45 of the 53 official matches. He has been fourth in the squad in games, only surpassed by Ter Stegen, Busquets y Frenkie de Jongand seventh in minutes: Pique, Araujo y Alba They added more. The numbers speak of a very high sustained performance of Gavi.
The game of Barça and selection differ in some of their internal operating mechanisms and also in the peculiarities of the rivals. Those who face Barça tend to be more defensive, so there are fewer spaces. Gavi It lives in the densest areas of the field and its brightness is reduced. Not only him. Any player has more problems without space to move and without time to decide because of the harassment of the opponent.
look before receiving
One of the usual recommendations Xavi a Gavi it is that you always look, constantly, before receiving the ball to know where your teammate is and where your opponent is to choose the best option; to look to detect free space and not go to an area to which a colleague must move; that he looks to anticipate the pressure and commit fewer fouls and receive less, too; to look so as not to be at the same height as another player or in the same passing lane.
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The skill in handling the ball, the control in the reception, the driving in the race and his change of pace make Gavi an exceptional player for his age. Luis Enrique he drew all the pressure on himself when he made him debut, making him the youngest player in the history of the national team. With Barça he has to perform at the highest level of demand every four days. The challenge of Xavi now it is to see the Gavi of the azulgrana team.