What
does Pedro’s decision to choose Chelsea and Jose Mourinho tell us about the
manager Barcelona loves to hate? It’s an intriguing move, writes Adam Bate.
If the caricatures were to be believed, it ought to have been a
straightforward choice for Pedro. On the one hand, there was Louis van Gaal.
Steeped in the traditions of Barcelona's Dutch school and a two-time title
winner at the Nou Camp. This is the man who awarded Barca debuts to Xavi and
Carles Puyol, Pedro's two Champions League winning captains.
On the other, there is Jose Mourinho. A divisive figure held in contempt by
some Blaugrana supporters as a potent symbol of the anti-football they style
themselves as standing against. Memories remain raw of the eye-gouging
incident with Tito Vilanova and that's merely the most high-profile of a
litany of controversies for which Mourinho was cast as the instigator.
Pedro has had a close-up view of it all. He's been part of the
bridge-building that was deemed necessary in the Spain national team as
relations between the country's two most famous clubs reached breaking
point. He's witnessed the apparent breakdown of Mourinho's relationship with
Spain's World Cup winning captain Iker Casillas.
After a week in which Mourinho has been castigated for his handling of the
Eva Carneiro furore - an unedifying spectacle that saw critics rail against
his abrasive approach, here was a reminder that there are always shades of
grey. For the second summer running, a Barca man has turned to Mourinho for
help and for hope. Pedro follows Cesc Fabregas to Stamford Bridge.
As a result, an intriguing notion can be floated. For this was not merely
the choice of Chelsea over Manchester United. But Pedro was also, in effect,
opting for Mourinho over Van Gaal. Given the experiences of his old
Barcelona team-mates with these respective managerial icons thus far in
2015, who could blame him for reaching such a conclusion?
Pedro will surely have consulted his old colleagues and feedback is likely
to have been mixed. Van Gaal himself acknowledged the disintegration of his
relationship with former Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes at Manchester United
by declaring that he "does not follow our philosophy".
In contrast, Fabregas - the one-time purist who derided Mark Hughes for
abandoning the Barca way - is likely to have been full of praise for
"winner" Mourinho and life under him at Chelsea. Indeed there are even
reports that the midfielder's partner contacted Pedro's wife to help
facilitate a move to London. Having won a title together, Fabregas is now a
fan.
"He's the best manager," he said upon sealing that trophy. "He has to get
results and he always manages to do that. With any squad he's been with he's
always managed to get results, to get his team to be champion, and that's
the sign of a real winner, a real professional. He has some edge that goes
above anyone else I have ever been with."
That edge still makes many Catalans uncomfortable. As Spanish football
expert Sid Lowe told Sky Sports, Mourinho tapped into what Jorge Valdano
called the "latent violence" of El Clasico like few others have been able to
do in club football's most famous fixture.
There's a natural juxtaposition with Pedro, the Canary Islander who
nevertheless appeared to sum up Barcelona. Pep Guardiola described him as
"absolutely fundamental" while Barca's style icon and spiritual leader Johan
Cruyff settled upon "incredibly important" as his summary of choice for a
selfless player who did the running for others.
But while there is a seductive notion that Mourinho is worlds apart from the
Barca way - a fallen angel practising the dark arts away from the kingdom of
culture - players are pragmatic beasts and Pedro is a player ideally suited
to his style. Mourinho calls it "sacrificing" in service of the team and
that's something Pedro knows a thing or two about.
"He'll leave with eternal admiration," wrote Joan Vehils of Barcelona-based
newspaper Sport this summer. But that's back when it was anticipated that
former Barca coach Van Gaal would be the man offering a first-team football
alternative to life at the Nou Camp.
Joining Mourinho at Chelsea is a more explosive option and a reminder that
the caricatures that have only grown over the past week are precisely that
and are there to be challenged. Mourinho remains a curiosity, a man accused
of disloyalty but one who inspires loyalty like few others. Pedro's
preference is a decision to blur those lines still further.
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