During the World Cup, former Barcelona head coach Pep Guardiola said he was “in love” with Aitana Bonmatí’s football. The Spain international and World Cup winner reminded him of Andrés Iniesta. Perhaps it would be appropriate to understand her game as a hybrid of the two, as Santiago Segurola, a journalist who has followed her closely, suggests: “Iniesta has the ability to move around very well, with skill, and Xavi has the control of the game. She is pure Barça”.
As reported by El País, Iniesta wrote in a message: “I am proud that Guardiola compares me to the best player in the world today. What I would highlight most is her evolution: she has gone from being a good team player to having an increasingly important role to the point of leading the national team and Barça alongside Alexia Putellas and other great players”.
He also mentioned her technical quality, her speed, her skill, her eye for goal and “her great winning mentality”.
Lluís Cortés is the coach with whom Bonmatí won Barcelona’s first Champions League in 2021 and he describes her as “an electric player, capable of breaking the rhythm of the game at any moment”. Going back to her younger days, he added: “She had a bit of anger that was difficult for her to manage. And integrating into the first team was difficult for her, because of her shyness and because it’s difficult to get into the first team when you’re young but determined to be important”.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
