pedri is the complete midfielder Scoring creating and winning back possession He can do it all While Robert Leandowski Lamina Mal and Rafinha rightfully earn praise for their impressive attacking output in Barcelona's treble pursuit it's high time we talk about Pedri whose exceptional performances this season have been a key factor in why Barca are as good as they are It's difficult to overstate just how big an impact Pedri made at Barcelona following his arrival in the summer of 2020 And in hindsight he has proven to be one of the best purchases in the club's history The 5 million euro signing from Las Palmas was only expected to feature sporadically during his debut season at the camp new but he quickly became a regular starter in a matter of months However in the following year Barcelona and Spain pushed Pedri to his limits as he played a ridiculous 73 games for club and country This included participation in not one but two international tournaments that summer the European Championships and the Olympics At just 18 years old it was no surprise that his body buckled under the strain of playing so much elite level football at such a young age Pedri subsequently missed nearly the entire 2021 to22 season due to two separate but clearly connected hamstring injuries While there was never any real doubt about his extraordinary talent his ongoing fitness issues became a significant concern Even when it seemed his injury plagued past was behind him heading into last year it was heartbreaking for fans and neutrals alike to see him forced out of last summer's Euros with a knee injury Ironically inflicted by Tony Kous a Real Madrid player I think not Speaking of inflicting damage no one likes their online activity tracked even if they have nothing to hide That's why it's high time to boost your online privacy with NordVPN Want to stream football matches without lag nordvpn keeps your game night smooth and seamless Using public Wi-Fi NordVPN encrypts your connection and keeps hackers at bay Whether you're analyzing plays catching highlights or diving deep into football as I do NordVPN makes your digital life safer and easier Check out the affiliate link in the description or the card in the top right corner to get up to 73% off your yearly plan with a 30-day money back guarantee Don't sleep on this one It's a gamecher Now let's get back into the video Following the Euro tournament last summer Barcelona took decisive steps to help Pedri finally overcome his physical challenges They arranged for a genetic analysis of his muscles at a lab in the United States which recommended that he engage in daily strength training Equally important Pedri benefited significantly from working with the newly appointed Hanzi Flick and his backroom team not least with fitness coach Julius Tus who crafted a customized fitness plan that is clearly yielding results While there were genuine concerns that Pedri might struggle under a physically demanding coach known for emphasizing intensive pressing this experience has actually proven to be the making of his currently stellar form He remains a relatively slender figure for a modern midfielder more in the mold of a cesque fabric than a yaya tore but he is proving more robust than ever before The now 22-year-old has missed just one game so far this season and that was only due to an illness Among his teammates only Jules Kundai and Pa Kubarci have played in more games for Barcelona while only Rafiniah has made more starts Flick has also implemented a significant positional change that is harnessing all of Pedri's potential Previously deployed in a more advanced position to capitalize on his playmaking ability and precision passing he is now playing in a deeper role within a double pivot alongside a more orthodox holding midfielder like Marasado or Frankie Deong The rationale is quite straightforward Pedri is Barcelona's best ball player so why not get him on the ball as much as possible especially when Ferman Lopez and the newly signed Danny Elmo can fill the ranks in attacking midfield To watch our breakdown of Barca's new game plan under Hanzi Flick click the first link in the description or the card in the top right corner Even for Flick the strategy has turned out even more effective than he could have imagined Alongside contributing five goals and seven assists across all competitions this season Pedri has become integral to everything Barca do The perfect link between defense and attack and the key component in a team of young superstars in the league Only Rafinia has created more chances for Flick's side While Pedri has also made the most successful passes into the final third ranked second for tackles one and DS one and is joined first alongside Casado for interceptions And that success has largely stemmed from his growing embodiment of the best traits of Barca's three most famous midfielders The ball possession skills of Sergio Busketss the simple yet effective passing of Shavei and the dribbling finesse of Andres Iniesta By the way if you're enjoying the video so far subscribe so that you don't miss out on our future videos The ball likes Pedri and Pedri likes to have the ball So when he doesn't have it in his possession his first instinct is to win it back This season the Spaniard has taken it upon himself to break the mold of being seen solely as a playmaker and assist provider by becoming heavily involved in his side's defensive duties He is currently leading an unexpected record topping La Liga's outfield players in ball recoveries with a total of 165 recoveries over 26 matches averaging six recoveries per match Remarkably the Barca midfielder leads by 19 ball recoveries over the nearest competitors who are both defenders What's even more impressive is that despite not having the typical ball-inning abilities of a standard defensive midfielder and only just embracing this defensive aspect he executes these recoveries without the clumsiness expected of a player in his shoes Indeed he has only committed nine fouls in 26 matches making him the third player with the least fouls committed among those with more than 25 matches played in La Liga When considering recoveries across Europe's top five leagues he remarkably ranks as the third best ball recoverer trailing only Ryan Christi and Moyes Caisedo from the Premier League However both of them have accumulated nine yellow cards this season whereas Pedri has been booked just twice Not since the 2020 to 21 season have we seen so much of Pedri on the pitch And it's safe to say he's making his presence felt After nearly 4 years he finally appears free from injuries And with a new contract signed his renewed sense of purpose is no doubt bringing out the best shape and form of his career If you enjoyed this video hit that like button and subscribe to the channel for more football news stories and insights Also don't forget to hit notifications so you never miss a beat And with that we'll see you in the next video [Music]