The involution of the captain heavily affects the team’s performance. Coach Mancini seems willing to leave him at home for the World Cup play-offs
SENT TO THE SPICE. Joao Pedro has run out of gas. The Italy-Brazilian needs to fill up. He hasn’t scored since 23 January (1-1 at Unipol with Fiorentina), but it is above all his performances that are worrying. Cagliari needs its captain, but the good copy of the player applauded on many occasions. For a month and a half the rossoblù striker (10 goals scored so far) has been a shadow of himself. He does not succeed in anything, he seems almost a foreign body to the team. “He always gives everything, he is an example for his teammates,” Mazzarri defends him. Unlimited confidence in a player who has the potential to lead the Four Moors to safety. Joao suffers, he is too attached to the shirt, intelligent to understand that at the moment he is not giving the contribution he expects from him. In La Spezia he deserved to be replaced but the coach kept him on the pitch anyway, perhaps hoping for a play. That there wasn’t.
Hello blue. The Italian-Brazilian returned from training with Mancini’s national team, with high morale. He made a good impression on the coach but then he didn’t give continuity to his performances. while his competitors (Immobile, Scamacca, Belotti, Raspadori …) have grown and have sent important signals to the coach. His call for the play-offs that are worth a place in the world championship in Qatar seems a long way off. Only one match is missing (the one with Milan on Saturday at home) and at that point the choices will already be made. Joao Pedro is not in his prime and will not be on the list.
Metamorphosis. The Cagliari forward is a fighter. Yet for several games he has not been able to record. He does not win a thwarted, he never jumps the man and even when the opportunity arises he is imprecise or late for the appointment with the ball. For heaven’s sake, these are moments that can happen during a season, but Joao Pedro is a fundamental player on and off the field for the troop led by Mazzarri. It is no coincidence that the technician continues to trust him, pampers him, tries not to make him feel the weight of responsibility. Even his comrades are close to him, they have understood that their captain, always at everyone’s bedside in the gray periods, now needs to be supported.
Present and future. A few days ago Joao celebrated 30 years. Many thought that he had a few more, forgetting that when he arrived in Cagliari he was very young. He has embraced the project, he has become an example for his teammates and a point of reference also for the management and the coaches who have alternated in these seasons. In the current championship, 10 goals and 4 assists, a lot of stuff, before his engine jammed. Pedro is now an acquired Sardinian. He and his family may stay on the island even after he stops playing. But now he must return to the leader of a few months ago. The rossoblù ship needs its captain to navigate calm waters.
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