Joao Cancelo arrived practically hand in hand with his compatriot and friend Joao Félix. The two Portuguese connect on the field of play, especially when they play on the same wing, and have a common goal: to continue at FC Barcelona when their respective assignments conclude.
In SPORT we reported that Barça and Atlético de Madrid study a new loan for Joao Félix beneficial for all parties. Manchester City will not make it so easy with Cancelo, as they are only willing to negotiate a transfer that could exceed 30 million euros.
A high figure for the delicate Barça economy, but one that should raise debate because Joao Cancelo has managed – with his most critical moments and others not so productive – to provide stability and solvency to a position, that of right back, ‘cursed’ in recent times. years in the Barcelona club.
And not only is his contribution being key on the right side, where he has played in 15 of the 21 games played by the Portuguese in the Barça shirt, but he has also appeared in 2 games in a more advanced position, that of right winger – one of them, the classic one- and in 4 as left back, where he has shown good performance.
His figures as a Barcelona player
Xavi Hernández has absolute confidence in Joao Cancelo. In fact, Barreiro is the second player on the Barça squad with the most minutes, a total of 1,715, only behind Ilkay Gündogan (1,957′).
The Portuguese, who is in the League with four yellow cards, has 22 shots between the two competitions, of which 16 have gone between the three sticks and 3 have ended up in the back of the net, the first of them, against Betis. In addition, he has distributed 2 assists.
Joao Cancelo’s first goal for FC Barcelona was against Betis and he celebrated it with the fans / Valentí Enrich
Cancelo receives as many fouls (21) as he commits, averaging 5.4 recoveries per game and 49 good passes.
Two outstanding matches
There are two games in which Joao Cancelo has become the main protagonist. The first, the spectacular comeback against Celta, in which the Portuguese went from making major mistakes due to tactical anarchy to putting the team on his back offensively, assisting Lewy to tie the score at two in the 85th minute and scoring in the 89th minute. ‘, the winning goal upon entering the area, receiving from Xavi and unleashing a precise right hand.
FC Barcelona – Celta: Joao Cancelo’s goal
The second match, much more complete from start to finish, was also in front of their fans, but this time in the Champions League and against Porto, eternal rival of ‘their’ Benfica. He played on the left side and left. Great goal from a cross shot and after ‘breaking’ the waist of his marker and assisting Joao Félix. He celebrated it in a big way.
Recognized by UEFA
Precisely, his good games in Europe have earned him recognition and UEFA has included him in the ideal eleven for the group stage of the Champions League.
The only one from Barça to achieve this, as well as in the eleven of the specialized statistics portal Whoscored, which gives him a rating of 7.80, the highest in a defensive line that he shares with Hummels (7.39), Pepe (7.16) and Raum (7.29).
A very competitive character
At 29 years old, Joao Cancelo can boast of having played in the 4 most important Leagues in Europe: In Spain, he made a name for himself at Valencia and now he is at Barça; Inter and Juve have been his teams in Italy before ‘flying’ to the Premier with Manchester City, which he loaned to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, and now he repeats the formula as a Barça player.
Cancelo is a footballer of character, very competitive and ambitious. Xavi pays the price of being a footballer who tactically has a tendency to go it alone and who can get angry if he doesn’t play, in exchange for having a reliable side and a born winner, as evidenced in Valencia, where he knew very little about the draw (1-1) and made it very clear that he does not feel the pressure.
2023-12-24 10:23:03
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