Ian Hart on Joao Pedro and his omission from the Brazil squad
It was the legendary Frank Sinatra that said, “Whilst the grass is always greener, ultimately it is still grass.”
At 24, Chelsea Brazilian striker Joao Pedro is probably not that up on the life and works of Ol Blye Eyes.
But over the last 12 months clearly doing things ‘His Way’ hasn’t worked, with the news earlier this week that he hasn’t made the Brazil Squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Pedro overlooked by Brazil
Not sure about the rest of football but I’m sure there were shock waves around West London when the former Brighton striker was overlooked by his national team manager, Carlo Ancelotti, in favour of Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Bournemouth’s Rayan.
In the space of 12 months, Pedro has gone from leading the line in an exciting, young, vibrant Brighton side to being a World Cup cast off at arguably the beginning of his prime as a forward.
Hence the reference to Sinatra and the colour of the grass. When he departed the Amex last summer, it was with mixed feelings on the Albion’s side.
Clearly a gifted and talented player on the pitch but off of it a complex character, and that’s a mild understatement.
I understand one of the issues concerning his departure from Albion was his desire to live in the capital, and as a result the purchase of a flat in West London.
Champions League and World Cup
But many will now question, if he hadn’t felt a year ago, he was ‘bigger than little old Brighton,’ would he now be on the plane to the US with the rest of his national team colleagues?
And, on the flip side, would the Brighton squad, with Pedro still in it this season, already have qualified for the Champions League?
Yes and yes basically. The EPL stats for his last season at the Amex, were 10 goals and six assists.
This year, at Stamford Bridge, in a mixed season for the Blues, he’s notched15 goals with five assists.
Ancelotti’s ‘radar’
Playing with the likes of Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma, Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh et all, he certainly would have been somewhere around similar stats.
Which in turn would have strengthened Brighton’s showing in the league. But perhaps even more significantly, he would have been on Ancelotti’s ‘radar’ away from the perceived troubled times at the Bridge.
In life we all live and die by our decisions, perhaps young Mr Pedro will be reflecting on his whilst watching the World Cup this summer rather than playing in it.
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