Jardim lauds Pedro, likens him to ex-Monaco, Man Utd star: “Top drawer” | OneFootball

Coach highlighted the striker’s importance at Flamengo and drew a comparison with former forward Dimitar Berbatov

Scorer of one of the goals in Flamengo’s 3-1 win over Santos, Pedro received plenty of praise from Leonardo Jardim this Sunday (05). In the post-match press conference, the coach, who has already managed major names in world football, compared the No. 9 to former striker Dimitar Berbatov, who played for several clubs, including Monaco (FRA) and Manchester United (ENG).

Jardim’s statement came in response to Coluna do Fla, which asked about the importance of Pedro for Flamengo at this stage of the season. The coach highlighted the striker’s impact on the team and reinforced the comparison, emphasizing the No. 9’s talent and quality.

— You know that sometimes people say: “Oh, but Jardim coached Kylian Mbappé, he’s fast.” But I coached two of the best center-forwards in the world. One was Falcao García and the other was Dimitar Berbatov. And Dimitar Berbatov was not faster than Pedro; he had the same style as him. Many people may not know Dimitar Berbatov, but, as you Brazilians say, he was a top-shelf player -, Jardim said, before adding:

— That’s why I’ve had players of many different styles, and I have to create a context in which each one’s best qualities can come out. That is my role as a coach. Especially because, with the transfer window closed, we have to play with them. Try to create the ecosystem so the players can perform in the best possible way -, he stated.

WHO IS DIMITAR BERBATOV?

Dimitar Berbatov is a former Bulgarian striker who played for major clubs in Europe, including Tottenham (ENG) and Manchester United, and also wore the Bayer Leverkusen (GER) shirt. At United, he won Premier League titles and stood out at the highest level of English football before continuing his career in other European leagues.

In addition, Berbatov was coached by Leonardo Jardim at Monaco. Having worked directly with the striker at that time, Jardim has practical experience to make technical comparisons such as the one he mentioned about Pedro at Flamengo.

THE REFERENCE STRIKER?

Still responding to Coluna do Fla, Leonardo Jardim highlighted Pedro as Flamengo’s reference striker at the moment. The coach explained that the player needs to be managed so he can remain available throughout the entire season, considering the packed fixture list and the important decisions at the end of the year.

— He is the team’s reference striker. At this moment, we don’t have another striker who is as much of a reference as he is, because of his ability and his footballing quality. He’s not going to play 70 matches, right? We’ll have to make some decisions here. I have to manage him because I don’t want to lose Pedro in June or September -, he said.

— I want Pedro to last the whole season, because Flamengo, playing in all these competitions, has the decisive matches at the end of the year. And we need to have our players fully fit. That’s why we have a squad to manage our athletes. But he’s a player I like -, he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.