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…
Roberto Martinez has never seen a playmaker like Kevin De Bruyne and praised the Manchester City man for his unique ability in midfield.
What did he say?
De Bruyne was incredible in Germany with Wolfsburg, winning the Player of the Year in the Bundesliga in 2015. This form earned him a move to City, where the 28-year-old has blossomed into one of the finest talents in world football.
Martinez, who coaches De Bruyne with the Belgium national team, has seen first hand what outrageous ability he has. The former Everton manager told Sky Sports (as quoted by Manchester Evening News): “It’s difficult to give a proper description of his talent.
“I’ve never worked with a playmaker that can work at a faster pace than the game. Any playmaker we’re used to seeing a player that slows the tempo down and gets two seconds to think, two seconds to find that pass.
“Kevin De Bruyne sees the pass even before any spectators see it. That is a dynamic playmaking that he has. There’s not another player in world football in front of him that has that precision and execution – every ball in the box is exactly the same level of precision. City’s moves are never into feet, they are always into space, they know where the ball is going to go. I feel Kevin with his intensity is a unique playmaker.
“He doesn’t work in systems, he works in space and he’s got that ability to turn in any space and execute a pass. technically he’s so gifted. Normally you get gifted players technically but it doesn’t go along with that physicality and intensity. I’ve never seen a player that can execute passes in transitions on any counter-attack like, his precision is immaculate. The uniqueness is to have that physicality and the technical ability.”
The best around
De Bruyne has been an essential ingredient to Manchester City’s dominance of English football over the past three years. Since signing for £55m in 2015, the Belgian has won six major trophies with the club and earned his way into the PFA Team of the Year in 2017-18.
Just recently, De Bruyne set the record to become the fastest man in Premier League history to register 50 assists. In doing this, he surpassed creative genius Mesut Ozil and as a result, established himself as a true great of the English game.
He may have only played 19 league games last year because of injury, but his presence was definitely felt as Liverpool ran with City right until the final whistle last season.
Should Pep Guardiola have had De Bruyne – who is valued at £117m by Transfermarkt – fully fit and available for the entirety of the previous season, perhaps they would have gone head-to-head with the Reds in the Champions League final.
However, this season, the playmaker is back and showing the world he is one of the best around.
