Great vision, a good touch of the ball, discipline and a profound knowledge of the way Barcelona work are some of the characteristics Albert Benaiges highlights in Gerard Piqué, a player he feels will adapt easily.
Albert Benaiges, coordinator of FC Barcelona’s youth teams told Barça TV and
www.fcbarcelona.cat what he feels about the signing of Gerard Piqué, a player he knows very well
after watching him rise through the Barça youth ranks.
Technical qualities
The coordinator of FC Barcelona’s youth teams said “he can play with the ball
very well at centre back, and has been a quality player since very young. He also has a very fast
first touch of the ball, because he reads the game well and is extremely fast for the bulky player
he is.”
Dangerous defender
Despite his playing position, Albert Benaiges considers Gerard Piqué to be a man who can put
danger on the opposing goal. “His height and bulk mean he is an unstoppable force in the air.
As an attacker, he is the kind of player who scores with his head, from corners and from dead ball
situations”.
Home-bred player
Albert Benaiges is aware of how much Gerard Piqué already know about the club. “He is a
home-bred player. He knows how the squad works here, about the press and the tactics.” The
Catalan will be perfect for Barça “because FC Barcelona always play creatively, from the back
and he has done that since he was small”.
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Benaiges, the man who discovered Gerard Piqué
In 1997 Albert Benaiges opened the doors to Barça to a 10 year old Gerard Piqué, having noticed the
players at a social competition organised by the club. “His grandfather, and then a board
member, Amador Bernabéu, said he had a grandson who played great football and suggested we tried
him out. When we saw him, we decided to sign him, and we should point out that it had nothing to
with the fact that his grandfather was on the board. And if the clarification needed resolving,
Gerard Piqué responded brilliantly”.