La Liga Profiles – The future stars of Barcelona – Barca B players
Barcelona is considered to be one of the best football clubs in Europe at the moment, or even the World. Eight of their players have just won the FIFA World Cup 2010, as they were part of the Spanish team. A few days later, as the FIFA World Cup came to an end and the Under-19 tournament is about to start, Barcelona has called its young stars to practice in their youth academy.
Seven out of them could not make it to the training as they were called up for the Spain’s Under-19 side while the rest of them were present in the academy to practice for their season. Goalkeeper Alex Sanchez and defenders Montoya, Barta, Planas, midfielders Romeu and Theigo, along with striker Rochina are the seven Barca B players that have not been called up for training as they are practicing with Luis Milla in the Under-19 side who are waiting to play in the European Championship.
With many players not available for Guardiola, as they are on a holiday after a tiresome and hectic routine in the FIFA World Cup 2010, Josep Guardiola called up the youngsters to play them in his first team during the pre-season. These youngsters include:
Oier Olazabal, the 20-year-old goalkeeper who was in-charge of Barca B back in 2007 and 2008. He came to Barcelona three years ago from Real Union Irun and is widely popular because of his amazing control with the ball in the air.
Ruben Mino is a 21-year-old goalkeeper who is a local boy and is famous in the youth team for stopping penalties. According to Barcelona’s website, he is very agile and strong athlete in the air and is known to be a “penalty specialist.”
Josip Mardi is another 21-year-old goalkeeper who joined Barcelona in 2004 from Mercantil. He was sent on loan to Al Vilajuiga during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. It was due to his extensive experience that Barcelona trainers and experts rated him as the most agile goalkeeper in the camp.
Moving to defenders where Albert Dalmau is a young 18-year-old right-back who is physically a very strong player. He plays frequently as a right-winger for Barcelona’s youth team as his ability to move forward and cross the ball is amazing.
A central-defender named Sergi Gomez also became famous during the 2008 and 2009 seasons as Spanish trainers saw the player progress brilliantly at an early age of 17. He is aggressive and strong in the air and can easily win the ball and defend well for the team.
Another centre-back for the Catalan team is Armando Lozano, who is actually not that young. He is 25 years old but did not get a chance to play for the first team. Lozano is a good man marker and is a very committed player. The centre-back joined Barcelona in the last season and according to Guardiola, he is the defender to look out for.
The midfielders are the key players for the Barcelona side and Ilie Sanchez, the 19-year-old is the perfect man to have in the squad. He possesses the ball perfectly; just like Barcelona wants it and he went off to Cornella to gain maturity after being brought up in Barcelona’s youth team.
Another attacking midfielder coming out of Barcelona’s youth team is Marti Riverola. The midfielder joined Barcelona when he was 6 years old and he is a potential goal scorer for Barca B. He is one of those players who loves to get his names on the score board.
The players who the fans look forward to the most are the wingers. The right-winger for Barca B, Edu Oriol is a 23-year-old player who is able to cross the ball with a lot of precision. The right-footed winger used to play along Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas and was able to train under their surveillance as he used to be the one who provided them with crosses in the 18 yard box.
Another winger for the Catalans who is still in the reserves is Manuel Agudo who is another 23-year-old player who is used to play as a second striker for his former club, Ecija. He is another right-footed player but plays on the left wing and cuts the ball from the inside with amazing results.
The players who score a majority of the goals for the team are obviously the centre forwards. The forward who is feared the most by the opponents in Spain is Jonathan Soriano. He is 24 years old and is the key member of Barca B’s squad. Soriano was the top goal scorer for the club during the last season as he has been able to score just too many from his head and foot, throughout the tournament.
Another centre forward that Barcelona plays is, Benjamin Martinez, who is known to be “Benja.” He is 22 years of age and was signed from Europa some 2 years ago. He was out on a loan to Reus until the trainer, Enrique, decided to bring him back to his side to score more goals.
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