At the age of 17, Barcelona midfielder Gavi is doing things that many aspiring footballers can’t even dream of. The teenager is one of the biggest young talents to come out from the La Masia academy in many years and is now a regular at the club level as well as for the Spanish national team.
Indeed, Gavi currently holds the record for being the youngest player to play a senior competitive game for Spain. He also became the youngest player to score for Spain in their 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic in the UEFA Nations League earlier this week.
The 17-year-old continued his brilliant work in their 1-0 win over Switzerland on Thursday. Gavi helped his side dominate the game and get a narrow win to move into second place in their group. But there was one moment that really catches the eye.
Gavi decided to bring out the street footballer in himself and pull out a little bit of trickery for the fans. While contesting for the ball just outside the box, the midfielder found himself quickly closed down by Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri.
With little time to react, Gavi beautifully flicked the ball over the 5’7’ Shaqiri with a beautiful sombrero. He then brought the ball down to his feet and moved forward with it, only to find Granit Xhaka in his way.
The Spaniard wasn’t done with his showboating just yet. In fact, he decided to recreate a signature move from Andreas Iniesta – who is also a footballing inspiration for Gavi. The teenager beat the press from the onrushing Xhaka with an impressive La Croqueta move.
He just brazed past the Swiss midfielder with ease by swiftly switching the ball from his right foot to his left foot. Xhaka was left embarrassed and had to resort to yanking down Gavi with an obvious foul to stop him from going through in the counter-attack.
This brilliant display of skill is only a glimpse of the incredible potential which Gavi has. The 17-year-old has a long way to go in his career, but his brilliant ability with the ball, passing range as well as energetic presence makes him an asset to any team.
Gavi’s fantastic skill has left fans in awe as they showered him with praises after his impressive display against Switzerland. If that bit of action proves anything, it’s that the confident Spanish midfielder isn’t afraid of a little trickery with the ball.
