Berardi responds when asked if he is Leeds hardest player, shares tale from his youth
By Harry Sykes
Gaetano Berardi has revealed that he has been renowned as a “hard” footballer since he was at a “young age”.
The Leeds United full-back gave some insight into his fearless, take-no-prisoners playing style when he addressed the media on Friday.
Berardi, 29, is a cult hero on the terraces, a status that has been earned during his three years at the club through his refusal to back down from any situation and his willingness to always defend his teammates.
The defender is less than 6ft tall but is renowned among supporters as the hardest player at Leeds.
Asked how he felt about that, Berardi said, as quoted by the personal Twitter account of Leeds News presenter Mark Kielesz-Levine, that “if I’m not hard I can’t play football”.
Berardi explained that he tries to compensate for his technical limitations with a physical, body-on-the-line approach.
The one-time Switzerland international has been a key member of the Leeds squad since joining from Sampdoria in the summer of 2014.
He has made 85 appearances in all competitions, the majority at right-back but filled in impressively at left-back in the second half of last season.
Berardi has recently returned to action after a month sidelined through injury.
He played the full 120 minutes of Leeds’ midweek League Cup win at Burnley and is in contention to play in Saturday’s Championship clash against Ipswich at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, a 26-year-old Monk mainstay is fighting for his Elland Road career after recent developments.
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