Brahim-Guardiola, a tandem that never came to be. Espinita for Pep, who insisted for months that the footballer was growing, that it was a matter of time. To wait. But Brahim, without minutes, got tired of doing it. And in the absence of a middle ground, he left Manchester. Five years later it can be said that Guardiola was right: the Brahim thing was a matter of time. But also minutes, opportunities. Once he had them, he has grown until he has confirmed himself as that talented player that Pep dreamed of for his Manchester team, but it could not be. He didn’t give her time to polish it.
The situation was simple: Brahim had grown up in the Manchester City youth team, knocking on the door of the first team at just 17 years old. It was then that Guardiola arrived, who did not finish opening the doors for him: in his first season he only played 49′ in the Premier, 51′ in the Champions League and 89′, between the two Cups. With this outlook he entered the last year of his contract, receiving strong pressure from the club to renew. But he did not. And he stood up in January without having been called up to a single Premier game (zero in 21 games). An unsustainable situation. He called Madrid, who wanted him for free in the summer… but offered 15 million (plus five in variables) to take him now, at Christmas. And there was agreement.
Guardiola y Brahim.CRAIG BROUGHAction Images via Reuters
An Erasmus in Milan
This is how Brahim escaped from Guardiola’s ship, who maintained during the time that if he had not given the boy more opportunities, in addition to because the competition in the team was fierce, it was because he needed patience, a little more time, that the opportunity was going to reach him. But Pep predicted a great career for him. He had talent. And five years later, he has exploded. It was in Milan where the wand began to give off chiribits (18 goals and 15 assists in two seasons). He had regularity (6,990 ‘in 124 games) and shone. He returned to Madrid wanting to vindicate himself.
And although it was difficult in the first months, it ended up exploding. Ancelotti himself confessed that “it’s okay to recognize that I may have been unfair to him.” And in November, he barely had 130 official minutes. But against Braga he uncorked the bottle. Since then, he has 12 goals and six assists in all competitions, having put the finishing touch this past Saturday against Granada, where he signed the first double of the entire season. The first, after a spectacular cut and a right hand from the near post. And the second, on the turn after receiving inside the area, surrounded by a tangle of legs.
Brahim celebrates a goal in Granada.Pepe TorresEFE
“Too easy…”
Brahim is already that player Guardiola dreamed of. A footballer with an outstanding ability to play in three quarters of the field, versatile in playing on the wing and who has both goals and the ability to assist. A diamond that, at 24 years old, seems far from his ceiling. “It’s very easy to play here, with these teammates. It is easy to score goals because they give them to you to score and the assists, you give them to them and they know how to score them,” he outlined in Granada. Humble. He has fit into the locker room and, despite not being a starter, he is happy. When he comes out he shines and Ancelotti counts on him as dynamite for the important nights. What happened to Brahim, indeed, was a matter of time.
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2024-05-12 03:50:37
#Brahim #Guardiola #dreamed
