Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says Manchester United helped him develop as a player
Barcelona defender http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Pique has looked back on his time at Manchester United as a period that turned his career around for him.
Pique said that the time he spent at Old Trafford allowed him to learn and grow as a footballer and helped him become the man that he is today.
The Spaniard went to Manchester United from Barcelona as a 16-year-old and spent most of his learning years at Old Trafford.
He did make it into the senior team a year after singing on, but was never a mainstay in defence and kept going in and out of the first team. He was eventually loaned out to the Spanish club http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Real-Zaragoza-c40344 for the 2006-07 season and managed to play 28 games
for them.
He went back to United after that loan spell as a much-improved player, and did get more chances in first team next season. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Defence-c38904, and Johnny Evans was also one
player who gave Pique stiff competition for places.
Pique knew that he would not be able to breakthrough in the United backline with Vidic and Ferdinand at the helm and decided to move back to Barcelona in 2008. The move proved to be a great one for the Spaniard. Since then he has managed to become a permanent
fixture in Barca setup and that has also enabled him to get a permanent place in the Spain national team.
Pique though has not forgotten about his time at Old Trafford, and always thanks the club and its staff for their help and support in making him the player he is today. Pique paid big tribute to Sir http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Ferguson and said that the United boss had a big influence
on his career.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 will take on Manchester United in the final of UEFA Champions League on Saturday, May 28, 2011 and Pique was once again reminiscing his time with United.
“When I arrived in Manchester, the club put me with a family, After a few days, I had an idea of what was in store for me: cakes or fish and chips,” he said.
While commenting on the style of play in English game, Pique said that the physical nature of the game enabled him to be more agile and prepared to the needs of the game which have helped him great deal in his time at Barcelona.
He said, “Still, I never regretted my choice because my time in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 made a man of me. It was another way of playing, more direct and physical.”
The Spaniard has matured into one of the best defenders not just in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 but in Europe, and has already won one Champions League and three La Liga crowns with Barcelona. He may turn out to be one of the most important players in the final for Barca, as
he is the only player in the team that has played at United and knows the inner workings of newly crowned English Champions.
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