Before starting, let me tell you that any addiction is harmful to humans. Perhaps being "hooked" on a player is the least dangerous of all, I completely agree with that, but when it comes down to it, it also poses a significant problem. Now that the good part is starting, with weeks ahead in which the fate of the 24/25 season will be decided in a Barça key, every Barcelona fan crosses their fingers that none of the important players on this team have physical problems. In those prayers are all the members of the squad, whom Hansi Flick will need in full to continue competing for everything. But, without a doubt, one name stands above the rest when it comes to directing the prayers, that of a Pedri who is playing everything and at a level that borders on excellence.
The performance of the one from Tegueste was a complete unknown at the start of the season. After the inconsistency shown last season and the various muscle injuries suffered with Xavi on the bench, betting that Pedri would return to his best version was certainly risky. But Flick, the man who has restored hope to a saddened Barcelona fan base, has also managed to return the Canary Islander to his prime, both physically and technically. What the former Las Palmas player is doing is unbelievable. The space he covers on the field is expanding by leaps and bounds, participating in the creation of FC Barcelona's offensive play and being the first to press the opposing defense. Arriving from the second line to finish attacking actions and also running back when there is a loss. A demonstration of virtues that leaves those who claim, from the most absolute football illiteracy, that he is overrated without arguments.
The rotations orbit around him, but at no time do they impact him. Frenkie de Jong or Casadó? Dani Olmo, Gavi or Fermín? There may be debate with them, but Pedri's starting position is not in question. First, because no player can provide the team with what the Canary Islander does. And second, because when Flick has benched him, things haven't gone well. Take, for example, the first leg of the Copa semifinals against Atleti, when from 4 to 2 it went to 4 to 4 by giving him a few minutes of rest. As if he were a beacon, without Pedri on the field, darkness reigns. Everything becomes more difficult and the team loses control. Hence, his presence has become essential in crucial matches, and when you are alive in three competitions, every match is.
At the key moment of the season, the best news is that the player from Tegueste continues to maintain that excellent level of recent months. That the burden of his muscle problems seems to be a thing of the past. And that, for the moment, no team is managing to figure out how to stop the talented Barça midfielder. In Can Barça, both Hansi Flick and the Barcelona fans can already consider themselves addicted to Pedri. And every defender of good soccer, regardless of the team, probably is too.