Who Is Winning the Battle to Be Gerard Pique's Partner at Centre-Back?

Luis Suarez was handed the Golden Shoe for top goalscorer in Europe on Thursday, a reward for his accomplishments from the 2015-16 season. To celebrate, he invited the entire Barcelona squad and staff out for dinner.

With a couple of notable exceptions—Gerard Pique, who has just been ruled out for three weeks with an ankle injury and Aleix Vidal, who has been frozen out of the team by Luis Enrique—his team-mates gathered in the evening at the Casanova Beach Club in Castelldefels, Catalonia, perched by the sea.

Many anecdotes have emerged from the night, but the protagonist in two of them was Samuel Umtiti.

Firstly for clipping another car with his own as he arrived at the club, displaying none of the accuracy he shows on the pitch. Rafa Soldado, Barcelona’s security chief took care of the issue so Umtiti could arrive on time, per Mundo Deportivo (link in Spanish).

And secondly for a funny video posted by Brazilian midfielder Rafinha, who used a face-melding app to combine Umtiti’s visage with that of legendary Barcelona defender Carles Puyol.

The subsequent creation provoked a great reaction among the team, who thought it was hilarious.

Although it was done in jest, the dream of Barcelona supporters and perhaps of Umtiti himself, is that he can go on to become a player as important as Puyol was.

Let’s talk about that in a decade, because that’s how long it will take to evaluate whether he has done that, but his start at Barcelona couldn’t have gone any better. Is he happy?

“Mamma mia! It’s obvious I’m happy, How would I not be? This is a dream, I am living in a dream,” he told Sport.

“Enjoying every moment, every second. In my day to day life too. The city, the quality of life in Barcelona...I'm happy, happy, happy! I can't complain about anything! All my life right now is beautiful.”

Umtiti was speaking after helping Barcelona to a 4-0 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League, a result that gives the team nine points from nine in Europe thus far. He played flawlessly, impressing with the ball at his feet, which is exactly the type of defender that Barcelona need to play in their style.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Sport’s Javier Miguel saw fit to give him 10 of out 10, writing in the newspaper that he “arrived at every ball, the possible ones and the impossible ones too. An authentic crack.”

The same newspaper’s Ivan San Antonio claimed the 22-year-old was “living in a cloud, one he had no intention of coming down from.”

But he will come down. All players do. Pique was great once, before he lost his status as one of the world’s top defenders. It was such a sharp fall that he recently said he considered packing it all in and quitting football.

Instead he found the motivation he needed to reinvent himself again, and right now he is the best centre-back in the world.

So Umtiti will not glide through season after season at the top of his game, and it remains to be seen how he will cope with setbacks.

He had a minor one a month ago, suffering a knee injury in training, but recovered well, and his appearance against Manchester City was his first in a month, although you would never have guessed it.

It says a lot that Luis Enrique was willing to pair Umtiti in the centre with Pique, coming in from the cold, and shove Javier Mascherano out to right-back.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

The Argentinian penned a new contract with Barcelona this week, which takes him up to 2019, but, curiously, it comes at a time when his place in the side is in question.

Umtiti is battling with Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu to be the starting centre-back alongside Pique, and, right now, he is winning that battle.

After a shaky start, Mascherano actually played well against City, learning the ropes in the full-back slot and limiting Nolito’s impact on the game, but he has not enjoyed a good season thus far.

Mathieu, meanwhile, is liked by Luis Enrique even as Barcelona fans moan about the French centre-back for his erratic displays. He gave the supporters more ammunition by getting himself sent off against City, for two yellow cards picked up in the space of a few minutes.

Pique has been ruled out for the next three weeks because of the ankle injury he suffered when David Silva lunged in on him, and the games he is likely to miss—Valencia, Granada, Man City and Sevilla—are not easy.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

That means the window is open for Mascherano, Mathieu and Umtiti to stake their claims for the spot, with the latter currently in pole position.

Playing without Pique will be a different challenge for Umtiti, although he managed it brilliantly against City in the second half, after the Spaniard had been taken off injured.

Sport’s San Antonio revealed some exclusive details about how the Frenchman prepares for games—meticulously. He wrote:

"

Luis Enrique is a modern coach who uses video to correct errors and explain situations to his players. Umtiti has his own set up at home. He goes through the fixture list and plans the necessary videos he will need to study his opponents. He's almost like a coach watching the games, making notes of what he needs watch for if he plays. He is focused, of course, mainly on the strikers of opposing teams. He watches their movements with the ball and without it, thinking about how he can take advantage.

He doesn't just do it to be prepared for the games that are coming up, but just to be prepared in general for when Luis Enrique gives him the call. Umtiti is a perfectionist who takes care of each detail regarding his preparation, in terms of diet and rest too. A professional who gives his all in each training session.

"

Umtiti’s dedication explains a lot about how he has adapted to so quickly to life at Barcelona. It is notoriously difficult to be a centre-back at the Camp Nou, because the Catalans’ way of looking at football is so different to that of many other clubs.

But with Pique missing, Umtiti can provide Barcelona with the quality they need to bring the ball out of defence and start moves, in effect filling in for the man he would like to partner in the long-run.

He did that against City, shifting over to the right centre-back position after Pique went off. It’s clear that Enrique trusts his new signing, while the other imports—Andre Gomes, Paco Alcacer, Lucas Digne, Jasper Cillessen and Denis Suarez—need to wait for opportunities.

The coming weeks will be a thorough inspection of Umtiti, Mathieu and Mascherano’s abilities, and based on the evidence so far, Barcelona’s new man will be up to the task.

A new Puyol? Wait and see. But the early inklings are good—and his team-mates know it.

Rik Sharma is Bleacher Report's lead Barcelona correspondent. All information and quotes obtained firsthand unless specified. Follow him on Twitter here: @riksharma_.