This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Arturo Vidal discussed many things in a big interview with L’Equipe, including some of his teammates. Interestingly, Ousmane Dembele was a hot topic and the Chilean shared his opinion on Barcelona’s young star.
What did he say?
Vidal is a player who’s experienced it all on the big stage.
With 32 years and plenty of both club and international pedigree on his back, Barcelona’s veteran knows a thing or two about the beautiful game. And he also knows what it takes to make it in a stressful and demanding environment.
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The Catalan capital is definitely one of those places, and succeeding at Barcelona is no easy thing, especially for young, up and coming players such as Dembele.
For that reason, Vidal thinks the 22-year-old will have to mature quickly despite his obvious qualities if he wants to fulfil his potential.
Here’s what he said in full:
“Ousmane is a footballer with crazy talent . When he reaches maturity, he will be an important player for Barça and the French team. But, clearly, he needs to mature; to listen to your body, to be better prepared to avoid injuries. If you want to be the best, you have to get up, eat and go to bed thinking football. I think Ousmane will realise at some point that he has to do more.”
A hot topic
Dembele’s professionalism and his commitment were actually a topic that was widely discussed. For all his brilliance and visible talent, the 22-year-old was missing those final touches off the pitch to make him one of world’s best.
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He had troubles with video games, arriving late and if we take a look at his days with Borussia Dortmund when he protested to get his transfer to Barcelona, we see that this trend actually goes way back.
With all of that taken into consideration, major question marks could appear over his future.
But we should also not forget about the fact that we are, after all, talking about a 22-year-old kid who’s expected to behave like he’s an experienced veteran.
And yes, his behaviour has sometimes been questionable at best, but that is bound to change with time.
Unfortunately for him, time is usually the very thing that young players don’t get enough of in modern football, especially at a giant such as Barcelona.
But Dembele should be worth the wait.
And we’ll have to wait ourselves and see whether the Blaugrana have the patience to go through all the rough patches to unveil a potential future superstar.
