Pique, from an Erasmus in Manchester to a Barca and Spanish football legend
Provocative, mischievous, intelligent, sarcastic, daring, witty....Gerard Pique has always been a different player because he has not limited himself to just kicking the ball around. It is likely that at the age of 20 he did not envisage that he could become president of Barcelona, but now few doubt that one day he will be. He himself makes it clear in the video he posted (15 million views on Twitter) to say that he is hanging up his boots: he promises he will be back and looks directly towards the Camp Nou box.
The centre-back, who will play his last game at the Camp Nou this Saturday (against Almeria), has always gone one step further. His outbursts against Real Madrid, in a context of a lot of tension between the two clubs, caused him to receive boos when he played with the national team. Every time he received the ball, part of the crowd made him feel unwelcome. He was also penalised for acknowledging that he agreed with the holding of a referendum on self-determination in Catalonia.
His first Premier League title
He had everything to succeed at Barcelona, but he had to emigrate in search of an opportunity. And not on loan, but on transfer. Shortly before Cesc Fabregas had gone to Arsenal, it was Gerard Piqué who was leaving for Manchester United. He was very young at the time and had no experience of elite football, so he faced - at least in the short term - a major challenge in trying to convince Sir Alex Ferguson that he could add quality minutes.
He did not even make his Premier League debut during his first season at Old Trafford, although he did get 25 minutes in the Champions League against Fenerbahce. In addition, he completed an FA Cup match and had to settle for a short spell in the EFL Cup (23'). There he had to compete, no more and no less, with Ferdinand, Brown or Heinze, much more experienced than him. The following season he was able to make his debut in the league competition, but he made seven appearances in the 2005/06 campaign.
Given the lack of opportunities, it was decided that he should go out on loan and the chosen destination was Zaragoza, where he played a much more important role and even scored a goal against Barcelona. From there he watched his teammates celebrate the Premier League title several years later, although the following year he was able to be part of that history. However, again in a secondary role and far from being a starter. In the 2008/09 season he returned home, from which he now bids farewell... at least as a player.
Pique, history with Barca and Spain
He has been part of the most glorious era of his club and national team, as well as having the good fortune to play alongside players of incredible talent (such as Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol), but he has always been a major factor in these successes. Barcelona gave the impression of being an invincible team, a power envied all over Europe; La Roja dominated in a way rarely seen before, especially in terms of play, and even won their last final (4-0 against Italy) almost before playing in it.
Pique, a regular in the national youth ranks, reached 102 senior caps and decided to end his international career before anyone else could do it for him. Although he was in the squad for Qatar, the Catalan appeared to have little chance of adding to that tally. He also had the chance to celebrate five goals, although he can boast a European Championship and a World Cup, something very few players can say.
But at Barça it was the same or better. Until part of the previous season and especially this last one, the defender has been an indisputable player for all the coaches. His good ability to read the game, his fantastic ball control and his mastery of the aerial game have been three fundamental virtues that have meant that he has hardly ever sat on the bench. In addition, he has had few injuries and this has allowed him to play nearly 400 games in LaLiga, 75 in the Copa del Rey and more than a hundred at European level.
At club level, as far as titles are concerned, he has won two sixtuplets to remember: the first with Pep Guardiola and the second with Luis Enrique. The Champions League became a fetish competition for Barça, a very different reality to the current one, and at national level there were very few years without winning anything. Proof of this is that they have six Spanish Super Cups, seven King's Cups and eight league titles in their trophy cabinet. In addition, they have won three Club World Cups.
Real Madrid's special enemy
The whistles at the Santiago Bernabéu have been a "symphony" for Pique, who has had no problem in saying that "the strings of the country" are pulled in the box at the stadium. He also had no qualms about stating that the vast majority of Spanish referees are madridistas and, several years earlier, that Alvaro Arbeloa was something of a "cono-cido". Singer Kevin Roldan, the star of a birthday party for Cristiano Ronaldo, also crashed Barcelona's title celebrations. "It all started with you," said the still player for the Blaugrana.
One of Gerard's greatest memories is that 5-0 win at the Camp Nou against the eternal rivals, a manita to which he himself gave shape with his gesture so that all the cameras could capture the shot. Nor did he celebrate the 2-6 in the capital any less, as it was he who scored his team's last goal, which was a great humiliation for the reigning European champions. What is certain is that Pique has been able to take advantage and enjoy these good moments, with more or less grace for whoever, and he has also been a perfect ally for the sports media due to the endless number of headlines he has made.
An exciting future
There are many footballers who don't know how to face their retirement or even that it will pass over them because they expected it later, either because of a poor performance on the pitch or because of a serious injury that comes at an advanced age. Filipe Luis recently said on El Larguero (SER), suffering from a physical problem in the last match played, that he feared the worst and that he would have hung up his boots if it had been confirmed that he had a broken cruciate muscle, for example. But that has nothing to do with the situation of Piqué, who leaves in November despite being fit - far from his best days, of course.
Owner of the company Kosmos, a conglomerate that manages the Davis Cup and acted as an intermediary to send the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia - in exchange for a millionaire commission -, the Catalan is facing a very ambitious future off the pitch. Among other links, he is a partner of the well-known Ibai Llanos, with whom he has organised high-profile events (such as the Balloon World Cup), and is also the owner of Andorra - through the aforementioned company - which currently competes in the second division. Will he preside over Barça in the future? There are several signs that point in that direction, of course.
