There isn’t a Pass of the Season award, but if there was it would already be something of a foregone conclusion. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne would already have the accolade wrapped up after his sensational ball for Leroy Sane in the 7-2 thumping of Stoke City on Saturday.
From 45 yards back, the Belgian threaded a pass in between two opposition defenders, in behind the Stoke backline and into the run of Sane, who made no mistake in finishing. Even from above, with the benefit of an aerial television camera, it was difficult to spot the run of Sane, but somehow De Bruyne managed it.
It was illustrative of how De Bruyne has become the orchestrator of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team. For so long, the Belgian was used as something of a number 10, even asked to drift out wide on occasion, but now he is the valve through which everything flows at the Etihad Stadium. Playing in a deeper position, the Belgian has become City’s defining figure - quite a feat given the quality at the club right now.
Such form has sparked chat of a Ballon d’Or challenge. Of course, the award has been monopolised by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the past decade, but with both players now the wrong side of 30 the window of opportunity for someone to gatecrash the party is creeping open. De Bruyne could be well-placed to position himself as the next best.
“The best is just one,” said Guardiola when asked about the Belgian’s prospects of picking up football’s most prestigious individual award.. “If you want to be considered one of the best, you have to win titles and we are here to help him achieve that. The best is just one but he [De Bruyne] is one of the best. “It would be a dream for me.
“I would love not only Kevin but all the players I have in the past to get to the level of Messi. “It would be a massive thing for my teams because we would win a lot of games. “But I don’t want to put pressure on. Kevin is an outstanding, amazing player and a humble guy. But I don’t help comparing him with Messi. Messi is apart. He scores 60 goals every season for eight or nine years. Of course I would like to help Kevin to get to the highest level as possible but I think in the past many times that to find a guy like Messi, it is not possible.”
This is true. De Bruyne is not comparable to Messi, arguably the greatest player to have ever played the sport. But the Belgian is the most talented character Guardiola has coached since his Camp Nou days. At Bayern Munich, Guardiola oversaw a squad of the highest quality, but there was no one player as good as De Bruyne is now. That’s the level he’s operating at.
Of course, De Bruyne’s true brilliance is in his ability to make the most of others. He is leading the Premier League in key passes per game this season (3.3, contributing five assists after just eight games. Along with David Silva, De Bruyne is the attacking hub of Guardiola’s side and the Catalan coach has finally found a way to get both of them playing at their optimum in the same team.
The tactical shift that has moved De Bruyne into a more central, deep-lying position is reminiscent of how Guardiola moved Messi on to another level by pushing him into the ‘False Nine’ role. The Manchester City coach has an eye for getting the most from world-class talents, and De Bruyne is his latest high calibre case study.
