The Gerard Pique appreciation thread.

Mister men

Pique will go down as one of the greatest centre backs of all time, he's the best in the World in my eyes.

World Cup, European Championship, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 Premier Leagues, 2 La Liga's, 2 Carling Cups, 1 Copa Del Rey.... all that at the age of 24. Incredible player.

jaykay74

Mister men wrote: »

Pique will go down as one of the greatest centre backs of all time, he's the best in the World in my eyes.

World Cup, European Championship,2 Champions Leagues, 2 Premier Leagues, 2 La Liga's, 2 Carling Cups, 1 Copa Del Rey.... all that at the age of 24. Incredible player.

Incredible stats there alright. Whos are they ?

stovelid

Best World Cup mascot ever.

keano_afc

Think you've credited him a bit too much there??

SilverFox261

What gets me about Pique is that he never showed at United the ability that he is now showing at Barcelona. I don't know if the English game did not suit him or if United let him go just before it all clicked for him, but when he left United I honestly never thought he'd turn into the player that he is now.

Melion

SilverFox261 wrote: »

What gets me about Pique is that he never showed at United the ability that he is now showing at Barcelona. I don't know if the English game did not suit him or if United let him go just before it all clicked for him, but when he left United I honestly never thought he'd turn into the player that he is now.

As a Liverpool fan looking in, i always thought he looked very assured when he played for United. I was shocked when they let him go. And even more shocked they didnt put some sort of buy-back clause in to the transfer deal

Raskolnikov

Mister men wrote: »

he's the best in the World in my eyes.

I don't think even a Barcelona fan will agree with you on that, I mean, he's not even the best defender at Barca this season Have you watched him in La Liga? He's had a fair few clangers so far this season, cost Barca the full 3 points at Gijon only 2 weeks ago. I'm not saying he's a bad player or anything, he just has a long way to go before he can be considered the best in the world.

Fizman

An even more impressive accolade is that he is currently boning Shakira.

gimmick

SilverFox261 wrote: »

What gets me about Pique is that he never showed at United the ability that he is now showing at Barcelona. I don't know if the English game did not suit him or if United let him go just before it all clicked for him, but when he left United I honestly never thought he'd turn into the player that he is now.

Mainly because who was ahead of him in Rio and Vidic. Why break up that partnership for an untested kid with potential.

When he went to Barca it was a sink or swim type affair. Luckily he learned an awful lot from Puyol and was very relaxed next to him. Add in that Marquez was hopelessly out of form and Gabby Milito was a long term injury, and that is how he made it so quick at Barca

wandatowell

meh

FreeOSCAR

Eamon Dunphy wrote: »

Spain defended more shambolically that “any team in the Leinster Senior League and that’s no disrespect to the Leinster Senior League.” Gerard Pique was simply “an awful chancer.”

Another gem from Eamon.

I love Pique, excellent defender.

Boskowski

After I've seen the spitting incident I simply can't have any respect for the guy. And I didn't particularly like him before either.

Uncle Mclovin

Whoe, Whoe, Whoe......


First a Jack Wilshere appreciation thread and now this.


People are losing the run of themselves.......


You have to remember that the teams that Pique has played with tend to have over 60% possession every game. He is rarely tested and when hes up against a good striker hes prone to an error. Hes like a slightly better version of Titus Bramble.

I wouldn't put him in the top 10 centre backs in the world.

fkiely

Pique the best centre back in the world right now? Will go down as one of the best of all time?The things you learn on here...

gimmick

fkiely wrote: »

Pique the best centre back in the world right now? Will go down as one of the best of all time?The things you learn on here...

He is 24 and has won more than what many would do in a number of careers.

He is not THE best CB in the world at the moment, but is certainly top 10.

As for one of the greatest of all time? Time will tell, but he is going in the right direction.

doncarlos

I was over at the Barca V Bilbao game at the weekend and Fernando Llorente made him look very ordinary.

Don't watch much La Liga but Llorente looks a fantastic player and only Iniesta and Messi impressed me more

Devil08

but would he cut it at Stoke City on a Tuesday night!? Dont think so.

I think he would be found out if he was back in the prem. He has it fairly handy over at Barca playing in that team.

Good defender but not anywhere near one of the best in world. Vidic for example is a different animal IMO.

fkiely

gimmick wrote: »

He is 24 and has won more than what many would do in a number of careers.

He is not THE best CB in the world at the moment, but is certainly top 10.

As for one of the greatest of all time? Time will tell, but he is going in the right direction.

There is no doubt that Pique is a good player. In fact he’s a very good player, I certainly don’t dispute that. What I do have trouble accepting is the notion that he’s the best centre back in the world. He’s not even the best at Barcelona. All in my very humble opinion that is.
*
He is fortunate to be playing in the best club and international sides in years. That’s not taking away from his ability but how often do the respective backlines of those sides get tested. I’m well aware of the whole notion ‘you can only play what’s in front of you etc..’ but he’s still quite raw in areas and can be quite prone to making simple errors. His positional sense can be suspect at times and he can be found out on occasion.
*
That’s not to say that he doesn’t have the potential to be one of the world’s best centre backs. He certainly does. He’s just not quite there yet in my eyes and still has quite a bit of improving to do before he’s counted as the best in the world in his position, never mind one of the best of all time.

SeantheMan

fkiely wrote: »

There is no doubt that Pique is a good player. In fact he’s a very good player, I certainly don’t dispute that. What I do have trouble accepting is the notion that he’s the best centre back in the world. He’s not even the best at Barcelona. All in my very humble opinion that is.
*
He is fortunate to be playing in the best club and international sides in years. That’s not taking away from his ability but how often do the respective backlines of those sides get tested. I’m well aware of the whole notion ‘you can only play what’s in front of you etc..’ but he’s still quite raw in areas and can be quite prone to making simple errors. His positional sense can be suspect at times and he can be found out on occasion.
*
That’s not to say that he doesn’t have the potential to be one of the world’s best centre backs. He certainly does. He’s just not quite there yet in my eyes and still has quite a bit of improving to do before he’s counted as the best in the world in his position, never mind one of the best of all time.

As a Barca fan I agree with everything said above. There are about 5 Centres Backs I could think of off the top of my head who are better defenders, though they wouldn't have the assuredness or passing ability he has, which is what suits him to the Barca style

I love the man, he is epic, and will only get better with time.

Seaneh

he's a good player but in fairness, I don't think he'd make it into of any of Man Utd, Real, Chelsea, Inter or Milan's first teams right now as I think each of those clubs has a better CB pairing.

GavRedKing

Gary Breen > Gerard Pique

Joeyjoejoe43

LOL

That is all

Backstreet Moyes

Mister men wrote: »

Pique will go down as one of the greatest centre backs of all time, he's the best in the World in my eyes.

World Cup, European Championship, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 Premier Leagues, 2 La Liga's, 2 Carling Cups, 1 Copa Del Rey.... all that at the age of 24. Incredible player.

He couldnt get a game for United because Ferdiand and Vidic form a great partnership he wasnt going to get a game. He was always going to want to go back to Spain while Evans who showed alot of potential was more likely to wait for his chance. He played barely any games in the Champions league, 2 premier leagues and Carling Cups with United hardly call them great achievments he got medals from sitting on the bench. Plus unless he's a vampire he didnt win the world cup with Spain. He is 24 didnt start playing regularly till he was 22. He had a good season last year, but has been very ordinary this year. Bit over the top to be calling him the best centre back for all his achievments. How about a thread for Lucio who has been outstanding the last few years. What about Vidic who has imo been the best cb in the world the last 2 or 3 years. Or Puyol who is a better cb than Pique.

doc_17

I never thought I'd ever be in a situation where I'd have to say this ........

Gerard Pique is very over-rated

Vyse

Nuts102 wrote: »

Plus unless he's a vampire he didnt win the world cup with Spain.

Backstreet Moyes

Vyse wrote: »

Meant Euro Championship forgot they won it in 2008, lol should av woken up properlybefore i replied. Thinking about it all the talk about Barcelona team what a team this current Spanish team.

Spazdarn

The fact we now have Jonny Evans instead of Pique hurts ma brainz

Bodhisopha

ToiletFusion wrote: »

The fact we now have Jonny Evans instead of Pique hurts ma brainz

And to think everyone was raving about Jonny Evans when he first broke on the scene.

Dolph Starbeam

Raskolnikov wrote: »

I don't think even a Barcelona fan will agree with you on that, I mean, he's not even the best defender at Barca this season Have you watched him in La Liga? He's had a fair few clangers so far this season, cost Barca the full 3 points at Gijon only 2 weeks ago. I'm not saying he's a bad player or anything, he just has a long way to go before he can be considered the best in the world.

I must agree, its a strange time for this thread to be started as he has just had the worst few games i've ever seen him play for Barca. No doubting he is a top class player and time will tell how good he really is but it is a very strange time for this thread to be started.

doncarlos wrote: »

I was over at the Barca V Bilbao game at the weekend and Fernando Llorente made him look very ordinary.

Don't watch much La Liga but Llorente looks a fantastic player and only Iniesta and Messi impressed me more

Llorente made him luck silly a couple of times but that did not really surprise me as Llorente is a very very good player. I must say i was surprised when Toquero did him for pace a couple of times though.

partyndbs

when people say barca have so much possession so that pique is not tested why does the same not apply to man unites defence

tallaghtmick

gimmick wrote: »

Mainly because who was ahead of him in Rio and Vidic. Why break up that partnership for an untested kid with potential.

When he went to Barca it was a sink or swim type affair. Luckily he learned an awful lot from Puyol and was very relaxed next to him. Add in that Marquez was hopelessly out of form and Gabby Milito was a long term injury, and that is how he made it so quick at Barca

id still have him over evans anyday,i watched him in the reserves and always knew he would make it and thought he never put a foot wrong in the seniors.

kryogen

I would like to tell of my appreciation and jealousy for Pique as he is now knobbing Shakira

Fair play lag, fill your boots

aidan24326

Mister men wrote: »

Pique will go down as one of the greatest centre backs of all time, he's the best in the World in my eyes.

You've nailed the exaggeration of the day award anyway.

World Cup, European Championship, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 Premier Leagues, 2 La Liga's, 2 Carling Cups, 1 Copa Del Rey.... all that at the age of 24. Incredible player.

At United he won 1 Prem Lge and 1 Carling Cup, neither of which he played a significant role in.

cson

Hey, if you're using medals as a barometer; Djimi Traore is a Champions League winner too. :pac:

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

partyndbs wrote: »

when people say barca have so much possession so that pique is not tested why does the same not apply to man unites defence

Agree with that, seems to be double standards from a lot of people. Pique, for the large part, has been very good this season, but definitely not the best CB in the world. Nesta should be in with a shout for that, admitedly I haven't seen him play much, but I thought he was phenomenol against us.
Pique would probably make the top 10 CBs though, but he has plenty of time to become the best.

Warper

Pique is a world-class defender. Him and Puyol are one of the best defensive partnerships in World football. Probably the best passer of the ball for a central defender.

lordgoat

I appreciate Pique.

Not a big fan of these appreciation threads tbh.

Quality player though.

Paully D

Didn't he leave Manchester United because he was homesick and wanted to go back to Spain? That's always what I thought anyway.

parker kent

THFC wrote: »

Agree with that, seems to be double standards from a lot of people. Pique, for the large part, has been very good this season, but definitely not the best CB in the world. Nesta should be in with a shout for that, admitedly I haven't seen him play much, but I thought he was phenomenol against us.
Pique would probably make the top 10 CBs though, but he has plenty of time to become the best.

It is nearly 10 years since Nesta could make a claim to be the best CB in the world. He is a shadow of the man he once was and is nowhere near being the best CB anymore.

Also, Barca's defence clearly gets less work than United's.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

parker kent wrote: »

It is nearly 10 years since Nesta could make a claim to be the best CB in the world. He is a shadow of the man he once was and is nowhere near being the best CB anymore.

Also, Barca's defence clearly gets less work than United's.

I'm just going by the Spurs match now, but he put in a better performance there than Pique has all season, or at least in the games that I've seen him in (~20). I'd welcome Nesta with open arms at the Lane tbh.

JPA

People talk about him not being tested at Barca as they have so much possession but he is part of that possession, he is frequently involved in their passing game and stepping out of defence.

parker kent

JPA wrote: »

People talk about him not being tested at Barca as they have so much possession but he is part of that possession, he is frequently involved in their passing game and stepping out of defence.

I think people are just piqued (pun intended!) that he is being called the best defender in the world in this thread and being credited with medals he has not actually won.

He is a top defender and plays a big role in the Barca passing game, but he is not the best defender in the world.

flahavaj

He's a very good defender, but he's not the best in the world and saying he could be the best ever at this stage is very premature. The fact that he always looks better with Puyol beside him speaks volumes and he never looks half as comfortable without him beside him. The jury is out for me until such time as Puyol retires and Pique is forced to prove himself in his own right as the boss man at the heart of the Barca defence. Until then lets lay off the Bobby Moore comparisons.

Seaneh

parker kent wrote: »

It is nearly 10 years since Nesta could make a claim to be the best CB in the world. He is a shadow of the man he once was and is nowhere near being the best CB anymore.

Also, Barca's defence clearly gets less work than United's.

Absolute rubbish!
The last two seasons he has been one of the most impressive and consistancy centre backs on the planet. The season before that he missed most of and then before that he was, without question, the best in the world, since he joined Milan, baring one season he was injured, nesta has been one of the best in the world.

Claiming he's not been a good player since he was 24? Get the boat.
Some people talk the greatest load of tripe.

It was only 4 seasons ago Milan won the CL, and he was central to that win.


Nesta is the best in the world this year, its been one of his best seasons ever in a milan shirt. There isn't a better reader of the game out there and even at 34 he's still quite quick and as assured on the ball as ever.

I would confidently say any team on the planet would be lucky and would be greatly improved, for having him in their starting team.

Next you'll be saying Walter Samuel is past it because he had one bad season at Real!

Paully D

Can't we just appreciate that there's a number of fantastic CB's around these days, rather than having to say that Pique's the best, Nesta's the best, Vidic is the best, etc.

Pique, Puyol, Vidic, Ferdinand, Nesta, Lucio, and so on, and on. All excellent CB's without a doubt.

I'm not fond of these appreciation threads at all, but is it possible to have one that focuses on the actual player mentioned, rather than having to say ''Player X doesn't deserve one of the these threads because he's not as good as Player A, B or C''. The more favourable option from my point of view would be to stop these threads altogether, but that decision is not for me to make.

parker kent

Seaneh wrote: »

Absolute rubbish!
The last two seasons he has been one of the most impressive and consistancy centre backs on the planet. The season before that he missed most of and then before that he was, without question, the best in the world, since he joined Milan, baring one season he was injured, nesta has been one of the best in the world.

Claiming he's not been a good player since he was 24? Get the boat.
Some people talk the greatest load of tripe.

It was only 4 seasons ago Milan won the CL, and he was central to that win.


Nesta is the best in the world this year, its been one of his best seasons ever in a milan shirt. There isn't a better reader of the game out there and even at 34 he's still quite quick and as assured on the ball as ever.

I would confidently say any team on the planet would be lucky and would be greatly improved, for having him in their starting team.

Next you'll be saying Walter Samuel is past it because he had one bad season at Real!

Wow way to over react. I said it is nearly 10 years since he was the best in the world. He has been extremely injury prone since 2002 and his has decreased his level of play. He is not as good as he was around Euro 2000 and the build up to WC 2002. Despite what your knee jerk reactionary post may state, I did not say he has not been a good player since he was 24. That is the typical, BS, reactionary post that you get on here. On any given night, he can put in a great performance and he is still one of the best defenders in Europe. But his days of regularly being the best in the world are gone. You have to take into account that he plays in Serie A and is not tested at the top level on a regular basis.

Do I believe he is the best in the world? No. Is he a bad player? No.

It is becoming impossible to make a short statement on here without somebody completely blowing your post out of all proportion. Anyway this thread exists for the rather tenuous reason of appreciating Piqué.

NukaCola

flahavaj

Seaneh wrote: »

Absolute rubbish!
The last two seasons he has been one of the most impressive and consistancy centre backs on the planet. The season before that he missed most of and then before that he was, without question, the best in the world, since he joined Milan, baring one season he was injured, nesta has been one of the best in the world.

Claiming he's not been a good player since he was 24? Get the boat.
Some people talk the greatest load of tripe.

It was only 4 seasons ago Milan won the CL, and he was central to that win.


Nesta is the best in the world this year, its been one of his best seasons ever in a milan shirt. There isn't a better reader of the game out there and even at 34 he's still quite quick and as assured on the ball as ever.

I would confidently say any team on the planet would be lucky and would be greatly improved, for having him in their starting team.

Next you'll be saying Walter Samuel is past it because he had one bad season at Real!

Seaneh in AC Milan hyperbole shocker!

Seaneh

not even close to hyperbole, accurate post on one of the greatest defenders of his generation.


Saying he is a 'shadow of himself for that last 10 years' that is hyperbole.

flahavaj

Seaneh wrote: »

not even close to hyperbole, accurate post on one of the greatest defenders of his generation.


Saying he is a 'shadow of himself for that last 10 years' that is hyperbole.

You are utterly incapable of being objective when it comes to Meelan in fairnes, always have been.