Wednesday 2 September 2009

Pedro: "The national team? Why not?"

Barcelona player Pedro gave an interview to Tenerife local newspaper La Opinión de Tenerife.





Tell us about your new contract. What does it mean to be a professional Barça player now?
First of all, it's a dream come true. It means being a full part of the first team, so it's not possible to play with the B team anymore. It's another chance and I hope to take it. It's a new opportunity to learn even more.

Who told you the news?
The coach publicly said that he wanted me to stay and then my representatives started negotiating with the club.

And then you had to sign the contract. What did Laporta tell you?
He congratulated me and said he was proud of my work, especially because I was another youth player that became a part of the first team.

The contract proves you right in a way. You have always said you thought you had a place in this team and now you're there...
Yes, I have always said that. I had this mindset for quite a long time and look where it has gotten me, I have reached my goal. But things don't stop here. You have to continue.

Where is your limit? Is playing with the national team a realistic desire?
The national team? Why not? It is very difficult, there is a lot of competition and the coach seems to have a more or less fixed squad but I always want more.

You are very modest but at the same time very ambitious.
Of course, you have to be ambitious and long for more if you want to keep on making progress.

You have never had it easy, but will it be easier this season now that Barcelona didn't buy a winger?
No. I have always said that I am relaxed about that because I am used to competition. And not just some competition, but competition from the best players in the world. In that cases you have to look to the future with optimism, believe in your qualities and be aware that the coach also believes in you. I don't see competition as something negative. It's good for the team and in my opinion also good for the individual player.



Read more:
Ten Things You Should Know About Pedro
OFFICIAL: Pedro renews until 2014
Pedro: "If the coach needs me, I will be ready"

7 comments:

tero said...

It would be very interesting to see him wearing Spain shirt...the task is tough though but if you succeed in barca you can make in national team too

Anonymous_69 said...

Well, if De Bosque actually starts playing with two wingers and two CM's, he might have a shot but with the Midfield he is using now:

Iniesta-Marcos Senna/Xabi Alonso-Xavi-Cesc

Who is Pedro going to replace? At the Euro's, Spain play with Iniesta and Silva on the wings and that worked out great so if they do that again, Pedro doesn't really have a good chance against either Silva or Iniesta but with both their constant injury troubles, Pedro's main competition will be Mata, Riera and Cazorla. In a few years, Riera will be out of the picture, Mata will probably be used as a Striker like he is in Valencia, and I don't know about you but I don't rate Cazorla very highly and I think Pedro will be better than him soon. But to get in the Spain sqaud, you usually need to start a lot of games in a row which wont happen for him in Barcelona unless Messi gets injured.

So if Pedro keeps improving and developing, starts regularly preforms to his potential, he might play for Spain but only if Silva or Iniesta are injured which happens a lot.

Anonymous said...

His shot is amazing. Probably top-3 in the team.

Boat Forever said...

For Confed.Cup he chose, 4-4-2. He always employed 2mid-fielders, 2wingers, 2strikers then. He seemed to have preferred Mata to Silva, but then one can say Silva was injured when the cup started. For LW, Mata>Silva>Riera. For RW, Iniesta>Pablo>Cazorla>Pedro.
One thing about Del Bosque is I think he's obsessed with players from big teams. He called Pique & Busquets this year; while Pique has definitely matured a lot over the past year, he didn't need t ostart Busquets ahead of Xabi Alonso in the Confed.Cup :) So I think if Pedro does get some play-time with Barca this season, he would be called to the national squad and I guess the preference order would be like Iniesta>Pedro>Pablo>Cazorla :)

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Jesus Navas. If he overcomes his separation anxieties from his hometown and family, he would be joining Barcelona and playing regularly for the national team in a couple of years.

Anonymous said...

I think Pedro has a great chance of representing Spain in the near future. He's still young, he will improve, and I'm confident he'll play for Spain. No disrespect to Riera, but I see many positives in Pedro's game, and could take Riera's spot come next year. It'll all depend on how well he performs this season.

Omar said...

I think Pedro has a great chance of representing Spain in the near future. He's still young, he will improve, and I'm confident he'll play for Spain. No disrespect to Riera, but I see many positives in Pedro's game, and could take Riera's spot come next year. It'll all depend on how well he performs this season.

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