The no-nonsense Leeds United defender avoided a red card in his last game.
Eddie Gray has claimed that Leeds United defender Gaetano Berardi has curbed the disciplinary problem that made him such a liability at times.
The Swiss star has started two of Leeds’ last three games due to Ben White playing a slightly more advanced role.
White, a centre-back, has been used in a defensive-midfield position in recent matches due to Kalvin Phillips’s injury, allowing Berardi a rare stint in Marcelo Bielsa’s first XI.
The 30-year-old is the most red-carded player in the history of the Elland Road club, whom he joined six years ago, and has been sent off no fewer than eight times – one of these was overturned.
The fear was palpable at Elland Road 10 days ago when Berardi picked up a booking after 38 minutes against Huddersfield, and club’s legendary former winger Gray has said on LUTV that he couldn’t bear to watch him in fear.
He said: “There was a few challenges when he was going in after being booked, and I shut my eyes. I thought, ‘No!’ but he pulled back and did the right thing.
“He has learned as well. There comes a time in your career when ‘I shouldn’t be doing that’ because you’re letting yourself down, the manager down, the team down and the supporters down.”
Berardi is undeniably the hard man at Leeds and the Elland Road faithful love him for it, but is he on his last legs?
With his contract up this summer and potentially no more games for Bielsa’s side this season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s very possible that Berardi – who has only started 11 league matches – will be leaving the club in a few months if no extension is tabled.
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