PEDRI & GAVI
XAVI & INIESTA

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of assiduous comparisons between the former spectacular duo of Xavi and Iniesta and the current great Golden Boys duo of F.C. Barcelona, Pedri and Gavi. Comparisons, aiming, of course,  only the style of play , are valid. Xavi and Iniesta are among the great names of football, with a career already cemented by their epic feats wearing the shirt of F.C. Barcelona, mainly, and the Spanish national team. Therefore, this comparison will only be an elucubration, a projection of an eventual career for Pedri and Gavi if both reach their true potential.

Starting with 18 year old Gavi, the latest Golden Boy. Gavi, as I have already written in these columns, is a true descendant of the old style of La Furia, the Latin style of always fighting for the ball. His aggression is high, always with determination, vigor and the fight for the ball being constant. He, in addition, due to the characteristics already mentioned, seems to have a more defensive style than the other three, largely due to his constant ball chase on the field. Gavi is the supporter inside the four lines. Supporters' eyes light up when they see a player always fighting for the shirt. In addition to what already was mentioned, Gavi has an excellent technical and tactical arsenal, but I consider it below that of Pedri, Xavi and Iniesta. I, however, believe him to be the fastest of the other three.

Gavi is a player who seems to have a very different style of play from Iniesta, Xavi and Pedri; he, however, presents his own style of play. As already mentioned before, he looks like a player of the old Latin style, often reminiscent of the constant rants of the genius Héctor Scarone — quite funny how they gesticulate a lot during during the events of the match.

Pedri, 20, is quite different from Gavi. He has a style closer to Xavi and Iniesta, but with a slightly different touch on the ball, a more elegant touch. Pedri is very mature for his young age, thus showing a very high tactical and technical knowledge. He is a calm player with the ball at his feet, he seems to do everything calmly. Pedri makes everything seem easier, even though the situation seems to be quite complicated. Of the three, I see him with the most potential. As I had already mentioned in a previous column, Pedri recalls another exceptional player from the former Central Europe — I ended up comparing him with Csámi Konrád. He, moreover, is one of my bets to be one of the great names in world football.

Pedri and Gavi are more offensive players than Xavi and Iniesta who constantly orchestrated closer to the central circle, especially Xavi, who often double-pivoted with Sergio Busquets. Iniesta used to attack more than Xavi, but not as much as Pedri and Gavi.

Iniesta was the most versatile; Xavi had supernatural tactical knowledge; Gavi owns his eminent aggressiveness; Pedri is technically elegant, he dances on the field.

I also argue along these lines that, in agreement with Xavi's own opinion, Pedri and Gavi had a better start to their careers than Xavi and Iniesta. If nothing serious happens in their careers, I believe that Pedri and Gavi — especially Pedri — have excellent chances of developing at a very high level. I don't know if it will be enough to be comparable or superior to Xavi and Iniesta. They, however, possess great talent and well above average potential.