The successors of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta have finally appeared. This is the appearance of the so-called ‘Golden Boy’ duo.
Barcelona won 3-1 in the 2022/23 season Supercopa final against Real Madrid held at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 16th (Korean time).
With this victory, Barcelona won the title 14 times in total. This is the first win in 5 years since 2018.
Coach Xavi lifted the first trophy in his life after taking charge of Barcelona in November 2022. After finishing third in the group stage of the UEFA (European Football Federation) Champions League this season and being pushed out of the Europa League, he was threatened by winning the Supercopa.
Barcelona took the lead with Gaby’s goal in the 33rd minute of the first half, Robert Lewandowski in the 45th minute of added time, and Pedri’s consecutive goals in the 24th minute of the second half. In the 48th minute of extra time in the second half, Karim Benzema’s comeback goal was scored for Real, but it was already too late.
Above all, Gabi and Pedri’s performance shone. Gabi is a central midfielder, but he played as a left striker and tried to penetrate the flanks and half space. The move produced his first goal and Lewandowski’s second. 바카라
Pedri’s goal also came from Gaby’s toes. A cross raised from the left flank was refracted by the defense and was not recorded as an assist, but the performance that was not revealed in the record shone.
Same goes for Pedro. He played a key role with The Yong in midfield, with a pass accuracy of 90%, including the third goal that day.
Both players are also top prospects who have won the Golden Boy and Trope Copa.
In 2021, Fedry and Gaby won the ‘Trope Copa’ at the ‘Golden Boy Award’ awarded by Tutosport, Italy, and the Ballon d’Or ceremony hosted by French Football in 2022.
The two players, who became back-to-back golden boys, are starting to be compared to the two midfielders Xabi and Andres Iniesta, who led Barcelona’s golden age in the mid-2000s.
Of course, both Garby and Pedri are players with similar aggressive tendencies to Iniesta. However, the influence the two players show is beginning to resemble the influence that senior and current coach Xavi showed with Iniesta.
Xavi and Iniesta were key to Barcelona’s tiki-taka tactics, along with Sergio Busquets (34), who is still at Barcelona.
The two players won seven La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey titles, and four Champions League titles, including winning the treble in 2008/09 and 2014/15 (La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League). The two players were also ranked among the best in the world from 2009 to 2013.
Of course, both players are still very young, in their late teens and early twenties. However, coach Xabi has already appointed them as the main midfielder. It is already the future and the present of Barcelona.
Attention is focusing on whether the golden boy duo, who lifted their first trophy with coach Xavi, will become the center of Barcelona’s next generation.