Friday 21 August 2015 08:40, UK
What does Pedro’s decision to choose Chelsea and Jose Mourinho tell us about the manager Barcelona loves to hate? It’s an intriguing move, writes Adam Bate...
If the caricatures were to be believed, it ought to have been a straightforward choice for Pedro. On the one hand, there was Louis van Gaal.
Steeped in the traditions of Barcelona's Dutch school and a two-time title winner at the Nou Camp. This is the man who awarded Barca debuts to Xavi and Carles Puyol, Pedro's two Champions League winning captains.
On the other, there is Jose Mourinho. A divisive figure held in contempt by some Blaugrana supporters as a potent symbol of the anti-football they style themselves as standing against.
Memories remain raw of the eye-gouging incident with Tito Vilanova and that's merely the most high-profile of a litany of controversies for which Mourinho was cast as the instigator.
Pedro has had a close-up view of it all. He's been part of the bridge-building that was deemed necessary in the Spain national team as relations between the country's two most famous clubs reached breaking point. He's witnessed the apparent breakdown of Mourinho's relationship with Spain's World Cup winning captain Iker Casillas.
After a week in which Mourinho has been castigated for his handling of the Eva Carneiro furore - an unedifying spectacle that saw critics rail against his abrasive approach, here was a reminder that there are always shades of grey. For the second summer running, a Barca man has turned to Mourinho for help and for hope. Pedro follows Cesc Fabregas to Stamford Bridge.
As a result, this will not only be seen as Chelsea rather than Manchester United winning the race. It will also be viewed as Mourinho rather than Van Gaal. Given the experiences of his old Barcelona team-mates with these respective managerial icons thus far in 2015, who could blame Pedro if he feels more comfortable with this outcome?
Pedro will surely have consulted his old colleagues and feedback is likely to have been mixed. Van Gaal himself acknowledged the disintegration of his relationship with former Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes at Manchester United by declaring that he "does not follow our philosophy".
In contrast, Fabregas - the one-time purist who derided Mark Hughes for abandoning the Barca way - is likely to have been full of praise for "winner" Mourinho and life under him at Chelsea. Indeed there are even reports that the midfielder's partner contacted Pedro's wife to help facilitate a move to London. Having won a title together, Fabregas is now a fan.
He has some edge that goes above anyone else I have ever been with.
"He's the best manager," he said upon sealing that trophy. "He has to get results and he always manages to do that. With any squad he's been with he's always managed to get results, to get his team to be champion, and that's the sign of a real winner, a real professional. He has some edge that goes above anyone else I have ever been with."
That edge still makes many Catalans uncomfortable. As Spanish football expert Sid Lowe told Sky Sports, Mourinho tapped into what Jorge Valdano called the "latent violence" of El Clasico like few others have been able to do in club football's most famous fixture.
There's a natural juxtaposition with Pedro, the Canary Islander who nevertheless appeared to sum up Barcelona. Pep Guardiola described him as "absolutely fundamental" while Barca's style icon and spiritual leader Johan Cruyff settled upon "incredibly important" as his summary of choice for a selfless player who did the running for others.
But while there is a seductive notion that Mourinho is worlds apart from the Barca way - a fallen angel practising the dark arts away from the kingdom of culture - players are pragmatic beasts and Pedro is a player ideally suited to his style. Mourinho calls it "sacrificing" in service of the team and that's something Pedro knows a thing or two about.
"He'll leave with eternal admiration," wrote Joan Vehils of Barcelona-based newspaper Sport this summer. But that's back when it was anticipated that former Barca coach Van Gaal would be the man offering a first-team football alternative to life at the Nou Camp.
Joining Mourinho at Chelsea is a more explosive option and a reminder that the caricatures that have only grown over the past week are precisely that and are there to be challenged. Mourinho remains a curiosity, a man accused of disloyalty but one who inspires loyalty like few others. Pedro's preference is a decision to blur those lines still further.
