Thiago Alcantara waved goodbye to Liverpool at Anfield two months ago, but his impact will live on through one player for whom he was a ‘mentor’ on Merseyside.
The 33-year-old might be gone but there’s still Spanish representation in the Reds’ midfield in the form of Stefan Bajcetic, 14 years the junior of the new Barcelona assistant coach.
People close to the teenager spoke with Spanish media about the crucial role that the ex-Bayern Munich maestro played not just in terms of tactical advice, but also off-field essentials.
Speaking about Thiago, they said [via Football Espana]: “He was a sort of mentor for Stefan. He was always giving him advice. He spent hours with him and even had a close relationship with him off the pitch. He helped him [Bajcetic] a lot in the day-to-day stuff.”
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Considering that they share a nationality and a position on the pitch, but had been at polarised extremes in their careers during their mutual time in the Liverpool first team, it’s not surprising that Thiago took it upon himself to take Bajcetic under his wing both on and off the field.
It can be daunting for any footballer to try and break into the senior setup, never mind someone based outside their homeland and at one of the biggest clubs in the world, so the teenager will surely have appreciated the veteran’s help massively.
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The 19-year-old could hardly have wished for a better mentor, with his fellow Spaniard having won the Champions League twice and amassed a whopping 11 league titles during his time with Barcelona and Bayern, in addition to three trophies at Anfield.
With Thiago now back at Camp Nou, Bajcetic will be striving to show that he can go on to enjoy a similarly glittering career, starting with nailing down a regular starting berth for Liverpool.
Long-term injury problems stopped the youngster in his tracks last year just after he’d graduated into a first-team mainstay, so here’s hoping he can make up for lost time during the forthcoming season and beyond.
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