Gerard Pique is integral part of Barcelona's set-up and fans are fretting over his injury

Andy West 08:51 06/02/2018
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  • Gerard Pique

    Gerard Pique is rarely out of the headlines, but few of those actually acknowledge what a good player is he or the importance of his role for Barcelona.

    The central defender’s cheeky sense of humour and his determination to speak his mind lands him in all sorts of trouble.

    Whether it’s winding up Real Madrid fans, being harangued by supporters of the Spanish national team or mocking his club side’s local rivals Espanyol, Pique always seems to be upsetting someone, somewhere.

    And that’s a shame, because it can prevent us from appreciating his talents as an outstanding central defender who is just as comfortable with the ball at his feet as he is when attacking it in the air.

    Now, though, Pique’s sporting ability may actually get some recognition following the news that he suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s feisty local derby draw with Espanyol.

    Initial reports claimed he would be out of action for a month, meaning he would miss at least the first leg of the upcoming Champions League meeting with Chelsea.

    And although concerns over the scale of the damage have now eased, the nervousness with which Barca fans are awaiting precise news over his condition shows just how integral he is to the team’s success.

    Without Pique, manager Ernesto Valverde would be forced to partner the equally outstanding Samuel Umtiti with either Thomas Vermaelen, who is currently in the latter stages of recovery from his latest injury, or new signing Yerry Mina, who has not yet played for the club.

    Neither of those options would fill fans with much confidence ahead of their team’s attempts to stop Eden Hazard and co, and Pique’s marshalling of his team’s defence – which he was even able to display in the flooded debris of Sunday’s local derby – will have a major role in Barca’s quest to secure their second league, cup and European treble in three years.

    His importance is even greater now that long-serving and always reliable Javier Mascherano has now departed for China, and Barca really need Mina or Vermaelen to become a trusted first-choice deputy in the centre of defence, because at the moment neither of them are.

    One thing that won’t change, we can be sure, is Pique’s habit of creating controversy – even when he doesn’t really deserve it.

    Sunday’s game at Espanyol, for example, was followed by a passionate post-match dissection of Pique’s celebration of his equalising goal, with one TV show in Spain even debating whether or not he should have been sent off for his ‘be quiet’ gesture towards the home team’s fans.

    As Pique noted after the game, considering the abuse he has ritually received from Espanyol fans over the last few years – much of which are obscene chants about his partner Shakira – putting his finger calmly to his lips is hardly the worst thing in the world for the defender to have done.

    Indeed, his celebration was nothing compared to the actions – in the very same game – of Espanyol forward Sergio Garcia, who has been accused of (and has hardly rushed to deny) hurling racist abuse at Umtiti.

    Garcia’s half-baked ‘apology’ on Instagram basically comes across as an admission that he did act in a racist manner towards Umtiti, who had to be forcibly restrained – by Pique, notably – from accosting his abuser on the pitch.

    Yet it appears that no action will be taken against Garcia, because Spanish football authorities have a habit of sweeping such matters under the table. Unlike telling fans who are hurling obscene abuse to be quiet, which is apparently a major problem.

    Priorities, it seems, need to be reconsidered.

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