Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc admitted his concerns about star midfielder Marco Verratti, after seeing his star midfielder pick up his ninth yellow card of the season in the narrow 1-0 away Coupe de la Ligue win over Lille OSC.
"Apparently, he doesn't understand. I adore him, he's got bags of talent, but he's going to have problems if he continues like that," Blanc said. "I have been taking preventative measures for the last two years. Carlo [Ancelotti] did it, too. That's why I took him off. I should have taken him off at halftime."
The exasperated Frenchman sounded a lot like former PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti did after seeing the pint-sized Italian receive his first red card in French football back in April 2013. The eventual champions triumphed 1-0 away at Evian in a particularly stormy affair, but Ancelotti branded the youngster "an imbecile" after a blazing touchline row followed his dismissal for a petulant foul to earn a second booking. A lot has changed since then, but at the same time, a lot has not.
Verratti is still Verratti. The diminutive Azzurri midfielder is an absolute star for Les Parisiens; regularly dazzling the Parc des Princes crowd with his audacious, high-risk approach, intricate footwork, sublime technique, magnetic control of the ball and superlative passing. Yet there is one major drawback with the 22-year-old: He loves a yellow card.
So much so, in fact, that a punt on Verratti getting the first booking of a game is likely to bring greater financial reward than putting that money on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score the opening goal these days.
Now in his third season in the French capital, Verratti has amassed 39 cautions in total across all competitions. On top of that, he has been red-carded twice; one was for the two yellows against Evian and the other was for a pair of bookable offences in a UEFA Champions League game against Greek giants Olympiacos.
However, despite a slight improvement last season from his debut campaign, 10 bookings in Ligue 1 compared to 11, he is on course for an all-time high in the French top division with a current total of seven, just three shy of last term's total. Tuesday's yellow card against Lille, his ninth domestic caution, means he will miss the visit of Toulouse later this month, along with David Luiz and another Brazilian in Lucas Moura.
At 22, of course Verratti still has time to stamp this petulant streak out of his game. However, the same was said back in 2013 and little progress has truly been made. The former Pescara man needs to work harder to reform this particular bad habit, but what is of greatest concern is that he appears to be unrepentant for what is one of precious few shortcomings. In fact, the Italian terrier was making excuses for himself after his run-in with resident Lille tough midfielder Florent Balmont.
"They fouled me a lot. I did my first one, and it's always the same," Verratti protested shortly after the final whistle. "Of course I can always better myself. I committed a normal foul. It wasn't nasty, I didn't even touch him. But it was as if I had almost killed him. The referee was conditioned by the opponent's behaviour."
What Verratti needs to do here is admit that this side of his game needs improvement. There is little that the Azzurri star can be faulted for; this season, he has been one of PSG's top performers, and his world-class talent is there for all to see. However, this immaturity does threaten to prevent the youngster from moving into the same class as the likes of legendary Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo, a player he is often compared with for obvious reasons when you see him passing, in time.
There is no doubt that Verratti has the potential to reach a similar level to his international teammate. However, it will take hard work and plenty of self-discipline for him to get there. It is not only the likes of Blanc and French football pundits telling him this, though, even his teammates are saying similar.
"He's a great player, and he's very important for the team. Along with Thiago Motta, I think they have a lot of quality," PSG captain Thiago Silva told Le Parisien after the Lille win. "They're the ones that make the team play, that make the team play quickly or slowly; they control the match. Marco often gets booked. He has to work on that. But it's always difficult in a game like that. I speak to him every day. He's an intelligent player, he will understand."
When Javier Pastore arrived at PSG in 2011, many fans assumed that he would naturally become the "Prince of le Parc des Princes," while few expected immediate fireworks from Verratti when the Italian joined in 2012. But despite his moments of recklessness, the PSG fans have fallen in love with the likable Italian scamp and hold him in as high regard as the Argentine -- if not higher.
It could even be argued that Verratti is now seen the true Prince of le Parc des Princes because of his greater overall consistency than Pastore since arriving. Regardless of that, Verratti should not fall back on the fact that the PSG supporters adore him the way he is. The Azzurri star's habit of picking up silly bookings and haranguing the referee at every opportunity needs to stop, for his own good as well as his team.
Coming into a crunch clash this weekend against an Olympique Lyonnais side loaded with talented midfielders who will make it difficult for PSG to enjoy as much possession as they are accustomed too, it is vital that Verratti fights his petulant urges. If he does not, then it could cost Les Parisiens dear in a game they cannot afford to lose this weekend.