Gerard Piqué has got it.  FC Barcelona’s 22-year-old fullback has got that special something that makes everyone from a gaggle of pimply teenage girls right down to a pack of cigar-chewing socis simply swoon.  He has not even broken a sweat winning over the unanimous acclaim from the Catalan sports press and the legions of culés who take turns hailing him as Carles Puyol’s heir apparent or declaring him the reincarnation of the legendary German defender Franz Beckenbauer.  And while there is nothing at all shocking about Barcelona’s infatuation with the talented player, it does come as quite a surprise how warmly Spain’s national press has received a young Catalan who, keep in mind, is not afraid to lead antimadridista cánticos nor flaunt the blaugrana colors after putting the cherry on top of Barça’s 2-6 humiliation of Real Madrid in the Bernabéu last season.

Is the answer the obvious one, that the Madrid-based press loves Piqué because he plays just as well for Spain’s national team as he does for Barça?  That’s part of it, no doubt, but it is not the whole story.  Just take the case of Xavi Hernández, Piqué teammate on both squads.  Even though the midfielder guided Spain to the 2007 Eurocup and was voted the best player of the entire competition, Xavi’s commitment to Spain can still be called into question just because he misses a friendly match so as to avoid aggravating an injury, something that would never happen to an Iker Casillas, for example.  No matter how much Xavi succeeds with Spain, the most radical madridista press will always see him first and foremost as a Barça player, i.e. a Catalan player, and therefore consider him a secret traitor in his heart.  No, it is no mystery that Xavi and other Barça players like Carles Puyol are not and will never be considered 100% trustworthy as members of the national team no matter how much glory they bring la roja.

Piqué is Catalan and culé to the core, so why is his case different?  How has he been able to somehow rise above the never-ending Barça-Madrid gridlock that condemns all those who don the blaugrana jersey to never being truly embraced for their exploits with la selección?

Àlex Santos, who covers Barça for the Spanish news agency EFE and is author of two books on the Laporta and Núñez years of the club, says the key is that Piqué “feels somewhat more free regarding the constant confrontation between Barça-Madrid”.  Santos argues that Piqué’s special status is tied to his four-season hiatus spent with Manchester United and Real Zaragoza before returning last year to become a major part of the most successful run in the club’s history.  “His years away from Barça [… and] this dimension as a player who has passed through other locker rooms and other leagues allow him to have a broader perspective, a perspective that is impossible to acquire when you are always in the same place.”

Santos also points to a second factor — luck.  After having broadened his horizons beyond Camp Nou and the Spanish league, Piqué was fortunate enough to return to Barcelona during its sweetest moment “when the club is in clear superiority to the madridistas, and the proof of this lies in the titles which Madrid simply cannot dispute”.  So, unlike Xavi and Puyol, Piqué has not yet had to live through any cycle of Madrid supremacy.

There is a third element in Piqué’s special status, however, and it goes back to before he ever left la Masía for the Premier League.  On a number of occasions Piqué has said that when he was young, the player he wanted to become was none other than Fernándo Hierro, the legendary Real Madrid fullback.  Hierro bled white during 14 seasons and won everything under the sun while becoming the aggressive, intimidating leader for the merengues on the pitch and no friend of FC Barcelona.  In particular, Piqué has signaled the offensive production of the former Madrid keystone as an inspiration (in the 1989-90 season Hierro scored an amazing 26 goals).  Now, in an interesting twist of fate, Hierro is the sports director of the Spanish national team, making him Piqué’s part-time boss.

To say that Piqué’s public acknowledgment of “loving the enemy” has helped serve as a type of peace offering to the Madrid press may be a stretch, but it surely is significant as to what it reveals about how from a very young age Piqué never let the “us versus them” discourse that dominates the barcelonisme and greatly influences the perceptions of the Spanish national team stop him from finding a role model in the ranks of the eternal rival.

That Barça’s heir apparent to the captaincy after Puyol and Xavi “hang up the boots” is also described on fan forums as the next Hierro for the national team says just how far Piqué has gone to bridge the abyss between Barça and Spain.  Time will tell if Piqué’s unique position will endure season after season, especially when la Liga’s pendulum inevitably swings back in Madrid’s favor.

photos: Lloveras; Marcela Miramendi