Barcelona is one of the most prosperous and accomplished clubs in the history of football. Their gigantic footprint allows them to flex their muscles to attract the biggest and most enticing names in football like Neymar, Luis Suarez, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and so many others.
However, Barcelona’s best players have often been bred at the club’s academy, La Masia, for free. Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Pep Guardiola are La Masia graduates that have lit up Camp Nou through their magical performances.
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One can argue that in recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in Barcelona’s approach. The Blaugrana have gone from being a club with philosophy based approach to a club that just goes onto buy expensive players. But, with Joan Laporta’s arrival as president coupled with Barcelona’s fragile financial conditions, the club is likely to rely on some of their outstanding academy products in 2021-22 season.
Barcelona’s pre-season saw Ronald Koeman analyze and evaluate La Masia starlets who are creating noise at youth levels and Barca B. Some have mightily impressed, even leaving Koeman and Barcelona first team management in awe of their performances. While seeing them as regular starters in the first team next season might be a bit too farfetched vision, they are likely to play some part in the first team.
Here are three La Masia players who could feature and shine for Barcelona in the 2021-22 season:
1. Nico Gonzalez
Nico Gonzalez joined La Masia at the age of 11 and has multiple accords to his name. He’s won titles at almost every youth level (Alevin B, Infantil B, Cadet A, Cadet B, Juvenil A) and his meteoric rise at such a tender age didn’t go unnoticed as clubs like Manchester City and Manchester United wanted to sign the then 16-year-old. But, Gonzalez always knew his heart was in Barcelona and he continued his development.
Gonzalez made noise of his progress once again when he was promoted directly to Juvenil A from Cadet A, skipping Juvenil B. Plying his trade as a midfielder, the Spaniard became a key cog in the Juvenil A team. Fast forward to 2021, Gonzalez has been one of the most eye catching players in pre-season. So much so that he could be a part of Koeman’s plans depending on the sales and departures of certain players.
However, Garcia Pimienta’s part in Gonzalez’s part cannot be ignored. Pimienta handed him the Barca B debut in 2017 and since then he has been an integral part of the B team. He played as a defensive midfielder under Pimienta but his abilities and traits do not limit him to one position. He’s likened to another La Masia graduate and a maestro of defensive midfield, Sergio Busquets. Gonzalez was often seen controlling the tempo in the middle of the park, which allowed Ilaix Moriba to operate centrally, and offer his services in the final third as well.
Gonzalez has neat dribbling skills too and can break the lines while making that press breaking runs. Learning the art from watching and noting Busquets, Gonzalez also searches for space and occupies spaces, creating a passing option for his teammates. He likes to dribble and move forward and can also operate as a number 8. It remains to be seen how his game evolves and whether he’s most comfortable as a number 8 or as a pivot in the midfield.
With the futures of Miralem Pjanic and Moriba unknown, Koeman could entrust Gonzalez with the duty of acting backup to the likes of Busquets and Frenkie de Jong. An exciting 2021-22 season awaits for one of the brightest emerging starlets of La Masia.
2. Gavi
At just 16 years of age, Pablo Paez ‘Gavi’ is garnering praises for his outstanding outings in the Barca shirt during pre-season. Gavi joined La Masia in 2015 and since then has been nothing short of a sensation at the famed Barcelona academy. The Blaugrana have been famous for producing midfield geniuses with tremendous imagination. Xavi and Iniesta are the biggest examples of it.
Gavi is an exuberant youngster with incredible vision and remarkable creativity. The 16-year-old is a silky passer of the ball and has the vision to thread perfectly weighted defence splitting balls. Gavi’s rise has been exponential which is evident from his graph at Barcelona. He featured for the Barcelona B team twice and has been training with the senior team in pre-season, also featuring in all three friendlies of the season so far.
Barcelona’s inventive drought in midfield was quenched by Pedri last season. Prior to that, ironically, the Blaugrana struggled to create from the middle of the park which often saw Messi dropping deep to lend support, almost playing as a playmaker and a forward. Gavi’s inventiveness offers hope. While Pedri is already Barcelona’s crown prince, Gavi could soon follow his footsteps of being a playmaker in the side.
Gavi pulls rabbits out of his hat, he can evade opponents and make it look like they never existed and even if they did, he made them disappear through his wizardry. Gavi seems to be destined for greatness, he needs to be carefully incubated and harnessed by the Barcelona management.
Even though he’s likely to spend most of his time with Barca B, his outings has left Koeman wondering whether could the 16-year-old play some part in the first team. In fact, as per a report, the Dutch manager has told Laporta that he likes Gavi over Riqui Puig. His career trajectory would get a nitro boost should he make a senior team appearance this season.
3. Alejandro Balde
Being a modern-day full-back is one of the toughest jobs in football. And when you are a full back at Barcelona, the responsibilities multiply by several manifolds. Barca full-backs need to be agile and excellent ball distributors and have a perfect blend of attacking instincts and defensive ingenuity.
Dani Alves and Jordi Alba have largely been underappreciated. While Barcelona’s right-back conundrum has troubled the side for too long, it is only now that the Catalans have found some stability. Barca must avoid a similar mishap on the left flank. Junior Firpo has been offloaded to Leeds United after an unsuccessful stay at Camp Nou. Barcelona have wafer-thin depth at left-back.
Taking into account Barca’s current financial state where spending money and buying a full back may not be the easiest way out, trusting La Masia’s players is a narrative that will be encouraged.
Alejandro Balde has caught the eye of Koeman in the pre-season. The void filled by Firpo is likely to be covered by Balde. The 17-year-old showed glimpses of his potential at Juvenil A which saw him make Barca B appearances last season.
Balde started his football career as a forward but eventually shaped into a left-back. Speed and acceleration are his biggest friends and what makes the difference is that he seems to know when and how to make use of it and make giant strides. The Spaniard is also a comfortable dribbler, ticking another prerequisite for being a Barcelona full-back.
He has a sound first touch and has the understanding of making overlapping runs, offering attacking support to the wingers. He still needs to hone his defensive skills but his pace aids him in running back and forth. He has a lot of promise and with sporadic first-team opportunities possibly around the corner, Balde cannot afford to take a step back. If the plot pans out to his liking, he could be the successor to Jordi Alba in a few years’ time.
Which La Masia youngster are you most excited about?