El Clasico: Waiting for a surprise from the 'hunter'

(Baonghean.vn) - Leo Messi and Ronaldo are always the center of debate and on the field of El Clasico matches, but Barca also has the "hunter" Paulinho waiting in the shadows. It is very possible that this Brazilian midfielder will score at the Bernabeu.

Midfield has always been a sore point for Barcelona. Under pressure to bring in successors to Xavi, Andres Iniesta, etc., the club has spent nearly 100 million Euros in the past two years in an attempt to find a worthy person. After failing quite a few times in attracting famous players in European football, new coach Ernesto Valverde surprisingly brought Paulino from China for 40 million pounds, for a 29-year-old player.

Despite his Brazilian nationality, Paulinho is famous for his physical playing style, not afraid of collisions and often has powerful long-range shots. A playing style that is not like any other Barca player and seems to go against the tradition of the beautiful football of the Spanish football giant today.

Paulinho is in impressive form for Barca. Photo: Internet

The Surprising Revival

Paulinho's peak came four years ago, at the 2013 Confederations Cup under coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, with brilliant performances for the Brazilian national team. He arrived at White Hart Lane after the club sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.

After making 30 appearances in the 2013/14 season without making a significant impression, he gradually lost his place and started just three games the following season. “Pochettino came in and I didn’t play much. I probably played four games at most in my preferred position and sometimes as a number 10. He had a lot of options and I was secondary,” Paulinho told Goal.

It seemed that the £10 million purchase by Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande would mean the end of his European career. But Neymar's departure has brought him back to Europe with the Catalan club and he has shone.

As everyone knows, for many years Barca has always played with a 4-3-3 formation with the atomic trio Neymar, Luis Suarez and Messi. When Neymar left, Dembele was brought in with the expectation of replacing him, but then Dembele got injured and coach Ernesto Valverde decided to play a 4-4-2 formation.

And Paulinho's surprising consistency has helped coach Ernesto Valverde solve many problems with Barcelona's style of play. Even when Luis Suarez or Messi are not playing, Paco Alcacer playing in this style of attack is still dangerous, as in the match against Sevilla or most recently in the victory against Villarreal.

Steel Shield

Barca's lineup to face Real in El Clasico. Photo: Internet

After 4 months, Barcelona is still maintaining an unbeaten streak in all competitions, they are also the only team in Europe to maintain this proud record. That new contract has silenced everyone with a superb performance and has become an important factor in helping Barca maintain an unbeaten streak in all competitions.

Paulinho showed his effectiveness in both defense and attack, averaging 1.3 tackles per game and scoring 6 goals for Barcelona in La Liga. The shuttle midfielder type that Barcelona has not used in the past 10 years.

Paulinho's playing style has many similarities to Dutch player Edgar David under Frank Rijkaard. With Paulinho, Iniesta, although playing as a left winger, is allowed to move freely, sometimes playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4-3-1-2 formation, and when needed, stepping up as a striker in a 4-3-3 formation.

With his abundant physical strength, Paulinho can share the blocking burden with Busquets, even dropping deep in front of the 2 central defenders to act as a steel shield when the opponent is pressing. Although he is a player with very good individual technique and powerful shots, Paulinho often plays simple, few touches and constantly moves.

If you don't surround this Brazilian midfielder, the goal is very easy to be shot by artillery, but if you organize to separate this player, it will leave space for Suarez or Messi to shoot. Not to mention, if you are spontaneous, Paulinho can hold the ball and dribble past 2-3 opposing defenders to score with his skillful feet. Even more worrying, Paulinho is also good at aerial combat thanks to his physique and strong jumping ability.

Therefore, in the El Clasico match, the Bernabeu's defender quartet Marcelo, Ramos, Varane and Carvajal will pay special attention to Suarez and Messi as usual, but Paulinho cannot be overlooked. And if the Bernabeu scoreboard has Paulinho's name on it, football fans should not be too surprised./.

AT