Chapter 255: Pedro's Mind Goes
The 25-year-old sat back on the icy bench at the Emirates Stadium, pulled the collar of his sports jacket and shrunk back into his clothes, as if trying to stop the February wind from getting in.
This past month was evocative for Pedro, who scored six goals in five league games and four in three Copa del Rey games, and throughout January, Pedro was Barca's most consistent goalscoring machine, surpassing Messi and Villa on the pitch.
This month, Pedro has always been in the sports headlines, and agent Jose Odin has done everything he can to keep him exposed. However, when Zhuo Yang came back from Asia, he didn't have to go to the stadium to score a goal, and he directly took away all the attention of the media.
On February 2, Pedro, as the dominant star in Barcelona's attack, and a group of substitutes were taken to the Mediterranean Stadium in Almeria by Pep Guardiola, and they also won 3-0 thanks to goals from left-back Adriano and second-team midfielder Thiago, as well as new Dutch signing Afele, and advanced to the Copa del Rey final with an aggregate score of 8-0.
Such a hearty victory, but not a few media attention at all, the next day all the front pages of the major newspapers were a gathering of Zhuo Yang and Peake.
February 2 is the birthday of Gerard Pique and Mebarak Shakira, but they are separated by a full decade. Barcelona went to play away from home, Zhuo Yang organized a grand birthday party for Pique and Shakira, many teammates who stayed in Barcelona were invited, Messi, Puyol, Xavi, Xiaobai, Villa and others all dressed up and brought their daughters to the stadium.
Not only that, but there are also many cross-border bigwigs arriving, such as the Barcelona Higher Conservatoire, Catalunya TV, and the senior management of the Barcelona club, and even the Chinese Consulate in Catalonia has a counselor. That night, Pique and Shakira had face.
Birthday parties are very personal in themselves, and it's not often that they get so excited. Pedro didn't understand why Zhuoyang and Pique were so swaggering at first, given that the team was still playing away from home and manager Pep Guardiola had always been disgusted that the players' private lives were too exposed.
But after the explanation of his agent Odin, Pedro suddenly realized. After Pique and Shakira's relationship was exposed, because of the special status of Shakira's ex-fiancé, their relationship was controversial, especially the age difference between the two, some malicious speculations were very ugly, and even said that Shakira was empathetic because of Pique.
As a mutual friend and introducer of Pique and Shakira, Zhuo Yang knows best that the relationship between the two is stronger than that of Jin, so he suggested that they simply face the world openly and make their relationship completely public. Such a party not only shows Pique and Shakira's disregard for criticism from the outside world, but also reflects the support of Zhuo Yang and everyone for them.
A feast, Pique and Shakira achieved their goal, but also took away all the scenery of Barcelona, and Pedro, who had occupied the newspaper for a month, immediately returned quietly. So, three days later, in the 22nd round of La Liga, Barcelona played at home against the strong rival Atletico Madrid, and Pedro naturally became a substitute again, and he was so helpless.
In the competition of Barcelona's forward line, Pedro knows very well that his target is not Zhuo Yang, because Zhuo Yang is too special, his scoring ability is the strongest in the team, and he is the only person with a height of more than 1.8 meters at the attacking end. With the presence of Zhuo Yang, Barcelona's offensive routines in the front court will be much richer, and it will be easy to score goals.
Atletico Madrid was menacing, but they were easily beaten 5:1 by Zhuo Yang's hat trick and Messi's brace. After leaving the team for a month and leaving the team for 11 games, Zhuo Yang will have to be unforgiving once he returns. With a win over Atletico, Barcelona have won 16 league games in a row, 10 points more than Real Madrid, who have played a game in hand.
Pedro knows that such a Zhuoyang himself will definitely not be shaken, and his agent Odin also said that his rival is Villa, whether in the national team or at the club. But the reality is even more helpless, the 30-year-old Huluwa's very selfless way of playing football is very pleasing, and his adaptability in the three positions of left, center and right is also incomparable to Pedro, not to mention that Villa's agent is still Pere Guardiola, Guardiola's eldest brother.
Is it possible to target Messi? Bojan behind Messi is called despair.
The 20-year-old Bojan had a higher starting point than Messi, he was three years younger than Messi, but he entered the first team only a year later than Messi. However, it seems that his debut is at his peak, and Bojan has become more and more distant from the starting main position over the years.
Four days ago, in the 23rd round of La Liga, in order to prepare for today's 1/8 first leg of the Champions Cup, Guardiola only took the first half of the main squad to Gijón, and Bojan finally waited for the opportunity, and he and Pedro led the starting attack.
However, the result disappointed everyone, as Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Gijón at the Grand Moulin Stadium to end their winning streak. Pedro and Bojan were unlucky, squandering countless chances with a full-court attack. Pedro thinks it's likely that his luck was too good in January and hurt his character.
Barcelona's only goal was the breakthrough of substitute Zhuo Yang after 70 minutes of the game, which created a chance for Villa, and Huluwa equalized.
To be honest, this draw hit Pedro and Bojan a bit and made them recognize the gap between them and the front trident at this stage. In the past, he replaced one of the three to start, with Pedro and Bojan both doing well, even the best performers. But completely putting aside Zhuo Meihu and the three of them to pick up the offensive beam alone, they immediately seemed to be in short time.
Bojan thought that was the reason why he had too few opportunities to play, so he wanted to leave. Bojan told Pedro that if he wants to leave Barca, he must leave. So, Pedro also wanted to leave, and he informed his agent of his thoughts, and Lord Alex Ferguson has always favored the Sabres.
Pedro, who was on the bench, couldn't help but feel a little sad at the thought of leaving Camp Nou, he had always thought that he would end up with Barca, and Bojan too, because they both came from La Masia. Pedro didn't want to think about whether such a forced departure was caused by the sky-high price Zhuo Yang, Zhuo Yang is not the first foreign bigwig, and Barcelona has a tradition of recruiting top attackers.
Pedro was very convinced by Zhuo Yang, just like the ball just now, if he replaced himself or Bojan, or even Messi and Villa, this goal would not exist, but Zhuo Yang opened the scoring in the 6th minute.
Without Zhuo Yang's physical advantage, Messi's pick pass would have become aimless, and without Zhuo Yang hanging Alexander Song upside down golden hook after the brutal turn in the Arsenal defender group, Barcelona's attack this time would not even splash a splash.
But with Zhuo Yang, there is a perfect start.
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