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Paulo Bernardo

Discussion in 'Celtic Chat' started by Luis1967, Sep 1, 2023.

Discuss Paulo Bernardo in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. JC Anton Get yer, hats, scarfs badges & tapes

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    His positional sense allows him to affect the game. And is always involved.. he picks up so many 2nd balls..
     
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  2. Notorious Gold Member Gold Member

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  3. Random Review

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    You have to interpret statistics, though. By most of the stats you quote, Scales is a more technical player than Hatate. Of course, that's an extreme example; but it's still true that Engels and Bernardo are quite different players who do somewhat different things on the pitch. Look, let me put my money where my mouth is: unless he gets a bad injury, I predict Engels will be pulling off things Bernardo isn't capable of by this time next year.

    Engels usually has a good workrate and I admit he runs a lot, so I'm not saying his workrate is poor; but there have been a few times he's been slow to apply pressure. One of those times led to a goal (against Aberdeen). I've never seen Bernardo give less than 110% in the press or in defensive tracking.

    Bernardo is a really good player with a lot of potential. I actually really like him. I just can't agree that he is great technically.
     
  4. G_portillo

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    Thats not really true either. Hatate would come out on top of Scales in certain stats, such as assists, key passes, passes into the final third, shots on target, conversion rate.
    You could split it into positions also, of which Engels and Bernardo play the same position. And domestically Bernardo comes out of nearly all of them but one.

    Well mate iv seen Bernardo give a few performances this season iv not yet seen Engels achieve. Rangers at home being a standout. Engels might in the long term. Im not writing him off, but im far from blown away with what iv seen so far and he isnt near as good technically as you are making out.
     
  5. Random Review

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    That's not really the point. It was an extreme example of how statistics have to be interpreted. There are lots of reasons why Beranardo might have some better stats: the areas they get the majority of their touches might be (are) different and and in slightly different situations, attention from opposition players aware of Engels' threat, starting games versus coming on as a sub, different levels of risk-taking, Bernardo's exceptional awareness compensating for his (IMO- I know you don't agree) average technique. There has to be interpretation. I don't know what source you are using btw, so it's difficult for me to come ip with an alternative interpretation.

    I actually agree that Bernardo has given performances Engels has yet to show! We agree that Bernardo is a great player. The only place we disagree is that I think he's a bang average technician and Engels isn't. Broony was a better player than Ki; but Ki was a much better technician. I look at players with strong technical ability, like McGregor, Kyogo and Valle and their control and weight and direction of pass look much more like those of Engels than those of Bernardo. They also have a magic ability to often control bad passes hit at them that bounce off normal players (like Bernardo). Note that I'm not saying Bernardo has bad technique either: he doesn't.

    So, let's revisit this in a year. If I am right, we'll all be raving about Engels' technique and if you are right, we won't.
     
  6. Mo-Neill12

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    Interesting chat this so will give my tuppence worth - it's too early to predict what Engel's outcome will be, but with his price tag comes a lot of expectation which I think must be quite jarring for a young player - especially when you come in hitting the ground running and go off the boil slightly. His potential is clear though, and it'll be great to see him with a full year under his belt.

    As for Bernie, I think his potential was also clear when he first arrived. He has really worked his socks off the past year and continues to improve his game#, and personally, I would be starting him now over Engels. Where they differ, is that Bernardo can do the basics better, and he makes it look easy (a bit like Rogic could) - which is credit to his technical ability and keeping calm under pressure.

    It's a great position we find ourselves in having two very talented midfielders that are only going to get better.
     
  7. G_portillo

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    Are you conflating “technique” and technical quality? Because it someone hits 12 shots and doesnt score any, but looks good hitting them, i wouldnt say that holds much ground.

    Thats not what im saying at all.. im not saying Engels might not develop into a great player. Theres a multitude of factors which may positively or negatively affect their development.
    All im saying at the moment is that Bernardo is a better all round player and isnt getting a fair crack of the whip and has merited a starting place for a while.
     
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  8. Mickmac Gold Member Gold Member

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    If he doesn't start today then it's entirely due to Rodgers being * minded and wanting to show he knows best and won't give in to fan pressure.
     
  9. Random Review

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    I don't know about conflation, mate. For me, technique and technical quality aren't two separate things that can then be conflated. It's like saying I'm conflating women and people. The former is one of the elements that go to make up the latter. So for me, technique is an intrinsic part of technical quality.

    Look, I can be wrong and have been wrong before on here; but FWIW, I genuinely can't understand how anyone can look at Bernardo and say he's better technically than Engels (and I mean that literally and not as a sly dig- I do respect you). It's one of those where if I turn out to be wrong about this, I'm going to start doubting everything I think I see when I watch a game of football.

    Clearly, you see things very differently. I suggest we come back in a year and see who is right. For now, we agree that Bernardo is a very good player and I can probably be persuaded that in the short term, Bernardo is a better player for us on current form.
     
  10. constant

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    No disrespect to Engels, but I think Bernado deserves his start. Hopefully Engels will still come good., But as a No.6.
     
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  11. buchanbhoy

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    He was very good today, this guy is a class act.
     
  12. stew37

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    Has to be starting now, it's there for all to see. That being said, I think Mccowan should be along side him. Hatate and Engles have got the quality but at the moment, they're not at it.
     
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  13. Waiting For An Alibi

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    We're far better when he plays.
     
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  14. NomDePlum

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    Agree, today's midfield was far better than the last 3 games. Can't see Rodgers doing it but I"d stick with the starting midfield from today for midweek.
     
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  15. Random Review

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    I was watching him in that second half. I'm always amazed how much he scans. McGregor, Valle and (when he's not on the touchline) Forrest are all really good scanners IMO, but Bernardo takes it up a level. I've tried to replicate it in a field on my own and the rate he goes up to when he is involved in a passing move in a tight space is physically hard for me to do (granted, I'm a middle-aged man; but it still says something). It's a real skill too. If you try it and don't cheat, you'll find that you don't really take in much in that fraction of a second (at least I don't); but these guys are taking in a lot of information. You also have to time it just right; you don't want to be looking away when the pass is made.

    For anyone who is interested in a clear example of what I am talking about, watch him being subbed on in the cup final last year.
     
  16. Big C

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    Tremendous football brain and what a touch. How Hatate starts before him is beyond me but, in Brendan we trust.
     
  17. Notorious Gold Member Gold Member

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    Paulo Bernardo on how Celtic make games look easy, and the Arne Engels debate


    It is far from Celtic’s concern, of course, but the ease by which what was largely a second-string side swept Ross County away at Celtic Park on Saturday was striking.

    The champions were five to the good by the interval, and it appeared they barely broke sweat in the second half as they coasted to another routine victory, increasing their lead at the top of the Premiership.

    That gap over Aberdeen could be increased to seven points when Brendan Rodgers and his men travel to Pittodrie on Wednesday night, and in their current form, you wouldn’t bet against it. Celtic are threatening to not only make matches like the one on Saturday look like a procession, but their march to the Premiership title itself



    The ever-increasing chasm between the league leaders and their domestic opposition is writ large then on the balance sheet and on the pitch, but according to Paulo Bernardo, what also separates Celtic from the rest is the hard work they put in that you don’t see.

    It would be disrespectful to both Celtic and the likes of Ross County to suggest that these games are ‘easy’, then, but it’s the combination of their greater talent, work rate and desire that makes them appear so.

    “We play at a high level, so we need to be playing every game at that high level,” Bernardo said.

    “We don’t have easy games; we make the games look easy. I think that phrase is our motivation for these games. We need to look at every game the same way.


    We’re playing in the Champions League, but we have to win the league. Every game is very important to us, and we have to do it from the first whistle.

    “What we show on the pitch is the work that we do in training and in our analysis of our game. We try to always play the best football, and we try to show the fans that we are a very good team by playing football that is really good to watch too.”

    They certainly enjoyed the show their side put on at the weekend, and on an individual basis, the performance of Bernardo.


    The Portuguese midfielder scored a well-taken goal, but he also showcased his class throughout, as he, Callum McGregor and Luke McCowan in particular completely dominated the middle of the park.



    One of the main points of debate ahead of the game against Aberdeen on Wednesday night, as it has been over the past few weeks, is the question of whether Bernardo deserves to supplant Arne Engels in the starting XI, given the young Belgian’s recent struggles to make a consistent impact in matches.

    It was a point addressed by Rodgers in his pre-match press conference last Friday, who actually cited Bernardo as an example of why fans should be patient with Engels, but with Bernardo now bedded in and – for the moment, at least – a more reliable performer, might the £11m man stay on the bench for the trip to the northeast?

    “I try to not focus on that,” Bernardo said.

    “I try to do my best in the games and in training to show that I can play from the start. The manager makes his choices, and I have to respect them and try to do my best when I can.

    Some players need a little bit more time. I needed a little bit. I think the coach understands that and gives us time to do the right things first and then to have an opportunity.

    “Today, I think I'm better than the day I arrived last season. I'm happy and I think the coach understands that I'm better this year than I was when I came in last year.”

    Just as Engels may look to players like Bernardo and McGregor as examples as he looks to establish himself at Celtic, Bernardo too took inspiration from those who came before him, and those he was looking to compete with for a place in the team last season.

    Matt O’Riley, for example, is a player who Bernardo has tried to emulate this term, and he thinks he is reaping the rewards.

    “I am scoring more goals this year than last year,” he said.

    “Was that a big target for me? Yes. I think every player wants to score goals. I'm an offensive midfielder.

    “I look at Matt O’Riley last season as an example. He scored a lot of goals and I’m trying to get [big] numbers too. The coach always says to every midfielder to get in the box because things can happen like on Saturday when my goal was from a second ball in the box.

    If I make runs into the box, I can have these balls to catch up and shoot from. He encourages that. I think the goals will come with time. By just playing game by game and doing the right things

    Any player who scores a lot of goals is very valuable to a team. So, I try to score goals, as I think every player does. Sometimes we can't, but hopefully I can score more regularly.

    “I think I did well [against County], but I think I can do even better. It's just one game, we have a lot more over the season, so we need to look forward and think about the next game.

    “Every game is a chance to do the right thing. I'm happy with my performances so far but I still think I can do better. It's just about hard work in training to have these opportunities in the games.”
     
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  18. eire4

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    Bernardo's attitude and mentality is as first class as his first touch. Deserves to start on Wednesday IMHO.
     
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  19. Liam Scales

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    Honestly he’s so much like O’Riley.

    Watched a recap and highlights of last season, the amount of massive moments and quality he’s shown is far more than I realised and I’m a huge fan of him.

    His place to lose in the team now
     
  20. jake10

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    Barnardo and McCowan deserve a run of starts
     
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