Luis Enrique praises colleague Ronald Koeman on Monday. Reason for the hymn is the selection of Pedri for Spain’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The national coach greatly appreciates the way Koeman works at Barcelona, where this season, besides Pedri, the necessary talents are given the opportunity to prove themselves on the highest podium.
“With the results he is now achieving, Koeman is sending a clear message”, Luis Enrique hands out a big compliment to the Barcelona coach at a press meeting after the Spanish selection was announced. “I think it’s really great that he uses so many players from his own training. That is a good thing, because I know how difficult such a thing is”, the Spanish elects refer to his employment as coach of Barcelona a few years ago. Luis Enrique then turns the attention to the debuting Pedri, who seems to have the prospect of a place in Spain’s final European Championship selection due to the call.
“We all have a lot of appreciation for his qualities”, the only eighteen-year-old Pedri gets along. “What I like best is that he always comes across as calm. He is modest and has really found a balance between defending and attacking.” Pedri was still a familiar face at Young Spain last year. However, his stormy development has quickly brought him into the picture with Luis Enrique, who will undoubtedly use the World Cup qualifying matches to see if Pedri is already good enough for a place in his European Championship selection.
In addition to Pedri, teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba also received an invitation from Luis Enrique for the World Cup qualifying matches against Greece (March 25), Georgia (March 28) and Kosovo (March 31). For Alba, it is the first time since September 2019 that he has rejoined the Spanish selection. In the past year and a half, Valencia defender José Gaya, among others, was preferred over Valencia’s left back.
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