r/Barca • u/Pek-Man • Jul 30 '20
A very underrated part of Piqué's game is his aerial ability. Not only does he win many headers every game, but he also wins a very high proportion of his duels. This is how he compares to other select center backs in Europe's top four leagues over the past two seasons. [OC]
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u/nobodyknowsthyself Jul 30 '20
The underrated part is his fitness. No cb played as much as him who is over 30 in that list. That should be noted as well
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u/Pek-Man Jul 30 '20
Well, there is Acerbi, but your point is still valid though. Piqué has played a lot in recent years!
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u/Faiz-Ahmed-11 Jul 31 '20
Piqué has been exceptional this season. His positioning, awareness and duel winning capabilities should be given due consideration. I think it’s just his speed where he lacks and it makes him a lot vulnerable.
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Jul 30 '20 edited Jul 30 '20
He is 194cm, though. I don’t think his heading abilities are that underrated.
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u/Pek-Man Jul 30 '20
Ask the average r/soccer subscriber if he is as good in aerial duels as Ramos, Koulibaly, or Chiellini, and I guarantee you they will say that Piqué is the worst of those four players. Piqué does not have an image as a physically imposing player to the same degree as those three.
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u/MozarT_T Jul 30 '20
He is such an underrated player ! This season he was one of the best Barca player..
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u/SpicyRico Jul 30 '20
Pique in general is underrated by people who don’t watch him because of his antics off the pitch and some embarrassing moments like this
(https://icdn.caughtoffside.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/pique-yellow-and-injury.jpg)
He’s monumental for us, he may have some off games but he has saved us tons of times.
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u/Pek-Man Jul 30 '20 edited Jul 30 '20
Edit about the table: I should point out that AerialsP90 is actually aerials won per 90 minutes of football.
A lot of us probably already realizes this, as we watch him week in, week out, but I think for a lot of other fans, whether hardcore fans or casual observes, this would come as a surprise. Piqué is an absolute rock though, and he does not get enough credit for how brilliant he is in aerial duels.
Winning more than 70 percent of all your duels is no small feat witnessed by how many otherwise excellent center backs struggle to even hit the 60 percent mark:
Ramos just below 60%
Laporte just below 60%
Lenglet just below 60%
Koulibaly at 56%
Umtiti at 55%
Alderweireld at 51%
Skriniar at 51%
Bonucci at 50%
Piqué is generally underrated in recent years, but I feel like this is especially a part of his game that does not get enough attention. He is far, far stronger than most people give him credit for. I think much of r/soccer would be very surprised to learn that Piqué in fact wins more of his aerial duels than the likes of Boly, Varane, Tah, Zouma, Giménez, Chiellini, Koulibaly, etc.