World Player of the Week: Pedro - Barcelona

May 28, 2012 12:00:00 PM

World Player of the Week

Pedro
AGE	24
POSITION	Forward
FOR	Barcelona
WEEK IN NUMBERS
APPS (GOALS SCORED)	1 (2)
TIME ON PITCH	87
PREVIOUS WINS	1

Athletic Bilbao

0-3

Barcelona

Barcelona forward Pedro had been largely under par in the 2011-12 campaign and also struggled with injuries. His place in Spain's Euro 2012 squad was under threat too, and the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao was the 24-year-old's final chance to persuade Vicente del Bosque to reserve him a seat on the plane to Poland and Ukraine.

And Pedro did just that, as he successfully convinced the former Real Madrid coach with a stellar display at the Vicente Calderon against the Basque giants. The Spaniard scored two goals in the Blaugrana's 3-0 victory to remind everyone how clinical he can be, as he stole all the plaudits in Madrid.

The match also marked Pep Guardiola's last game in charge of Barcelona and the resounding win gave the Catalan boss a fitting farewell. Pedro was subsequently named in Del Bosque's 23-man squad for the European Championship.

Congratulations to Pedro, Goal.com's 158th World Player of the Week winner!

Honourable Mentions

Eren Derdiyok - Switzerland It is not often that Germany lose, but against Switzerland in a friendly on Saturday the Euro 2012 favourites struggled. Derdiyok was his side's hero on the night, as he netted a brilliant hat-trick to inspire the Swiss to a 5-3 victory in Basel.
Landon Donovan - USA USA got the better of Scotland 5-1 in a friendly international at the weekend in Florida and Donovan was key to his team's success. The LA Galaxy attacker a netted a fine hat-trick against the Scots, in what was a marvellous performance.
Hulk - Brazil Hulk enjoyed a productive 2011-12 season with Porto and he has continued to shine, this time with Brazil. The 25-year-old striker starred for the South American giants as they beat Denmark 3-1 in a friendly international in Hamburg, scoring two goals in the first half.
Alan Kardec - Santos Kardec acted as the catalyst in Santos' charge towards the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores. He scored the winner in the second leg of their last-16 tie against Velez Sarsfield on 78 minutes to level the tie at 1-1, and then took the first penalty in the shootout.
Lucas - Botafogo Botafogo won their second game in a row in the Brasileiro to remain top of the table, thanks to Lucas' double against Coritiba. The 24-year-old equalised on 20 minutes and found the winner four minutes from time, as Botafogo came from behind to register a 3-2 victory.

On Sunday, we encouraged our readers to nominate their choices for the best player of the week. Here are some of the comments we received:

Amponsah Alexander from Ghana backed Pedro to win the award following his two goals against Barcelona.

"Although Derdiyok and Donovan performed for their respective national teams, Pedro's double against Athletic Bilbao was brilliant and I think that he deserves the award."

Duba in Columbia also felt that the Barcelona forward should pick up the award.

"Pedro should be the World Player of the Week for scoring two goals in Barcelona's Copa del Rey triumph that secured his place in Spain's Euro 2012 squad against all the odds."

Wallace in the USA went for Donovan for his superb performance against Scotland.

"Although there were plenty of great performances this week, my vote goes to Landon Donovan. He had a fantastic game against Scotland, scored a hat-trick, set up Jones' header and participated in the build-up to Bradley's stunner. His work-rate was outstanding and was the difference between the two teams."

Ediesson in Montreal, though, disagreed and voted for Switzerland's Derdiyok following his hat-trick against Germany.

"I would say Eren Derdiyok because he scored a hat-trick against Germany, who are the second-ranked team in the world. It was remarkable."

Marouane Yasser Sakr in Cairo, Egypt also gave his vote to Derdiyok.

"Eren Derdiyok should surely get the award. He bagged a hat-trick against Germany, who are huge favorites for the Euros, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen was no match for his clinical finishing and aerial prowess. His link-up play with Tranquillo Barnetta gave the Germans more than just a headache, and I think he has done enough to be Goal.com's World Player of the Week."

Each week our worldwide team of editors will put forward a selected candidate, as chosen by Goal.com International, who deserves recognition for achieving something special that matchday.

You can also help us choose a worthy recipient of the weekly accolade by leaving your nominations and comments here. Your suggestions will be taken into consideration.

It won't necessarily be the best player in the world - at least not usually - but whoever we crown will have accomplished something amazing. It might be for a particularly awesome performance or for something praiseworthy off the pitch - either way, the person in question deserves special attention...

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