In recent years, the disadvantages seem to outweigh the advantages in Barcelona, with the most notable thing being the acquisition of average players in old age and relying mainly on “aging” in the squad, which halted the progress of young talent from Barcelona B, contrary to club values. If there’s one thing the team owes a debt of gratitude to Ronald Koeman, no matter how this season ends, it’s about putting an end to it.
As a player under legendary coach Johan Cruyff, Coman was part of a young squad in Barcelona, where Pep Guardiola also played, and the club achieved wonderful achievements thanks to those players. As someone who stands on the lines of the Catalans in the present, the Dutchman is hugely implementing Cruyff’s ideology and is raising the next generation of the team for at least the next 10 years, giving the main stage to some young talent (just ask Zlatan, Mane, Mata and Van Dyke Who discovered them) without which they probably would not soon have broken into consciousness.
The last of them is 18-year-old Ilaish Moriva, who on Saturday became the fifth youngest conqueror in the team’s history in a 0: 2 victory over Osasuna, in which no less than 7 players aged 23 and under participated. The trend is clear and after last season Barcelona relied mainly on adult players, in 2020/21 the story is completely different when players like Federy, Ricky Pouch, Serginio Dust, Oscar Mingsa and Ronald Araujo determine their status in the seniors and are defined as the club’s future.
“The most important thing for me is that the players are competitive, age is not a factor but what I see on the pitch,” said Koeman after the recent victory that brought his team closer to the top. “These players deserve the opportunity they get, if we continue to play like this we can win titles, and if we do it while we share young people it’s even better. They have proven they have a bright future, and as a coach I always chose to give young people a chance because they are the club’s future.” .
So true, the Dutchman is not Guardiola, far from it, but he is doing the club a great favor, despite the apparent relegation from the Champions League already in the quarterfinals, something that has not happened to the team since 2007. In the Champions League it may end (who knows, the team may have another comeback Mighty in the sleeve), but the coach will leave behind a legacy that could win the trophy with the big ears in the future. “Coman Babies” – the new players, those who have jumped out of the youth and even those who have already been in a flourishing team – it’s time to go in depth and see who the team will rely on for the next decade.
Pedry, 18, score: 9
It’s hard to dispute that this is the team’s best young player of the season, and he should have been loaned out at all, but due to the fact that not too many reinforcement players came, the player stayed and the team just won. Blind coordination with Leo Messi, the ability to deliver and keep the ball like Anders Iniesta, positive audacity and especially inconceivable fitness for a boy his age, who started almost all games this season in 11 (and thanks to Filipa Coutinho who was injured and absent most of the season) and kept running and pressing rival players . An 18-year-old who plays like a 25-year-old player – what more could you ask for?
Ronald Araujo, celebrated this week 22, Score: 7.5
The regular brakes of Barcelona, Clement Langela, Gerard Pique and Samuel Omititi are all in the decline that began about two years ago, and the sturdy Uruguayan has established himself as the best and most stable brake of the Catalans this season. Last season he had minute crumbs, this season Pique’s injury caused Koeman to bet on him, and he did not disappoint. Players just don’t pass him in the dribble, but at the same time he had some mistakes like losing a ball that caused a 1-1 draw against Eibar and a silly penalty that he caused against Juventus at the Camp Nou. Unpleasant, not terrible – tuition. When he recovers from the injury he will return much stronger, and probably also directly to the 11th.
Oscar Mingsa, 21, Score: 7
Another new name in Barça’s defense. This is a diverse player, with dribbling ability, speed and game intelligence, who sometimes loses concentration. In his debut that he received following the injuries of Serginio Dest and Sergi Roberto, he has already recorded cooking against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League, and since then he has not played regularly (he still has 27 appearances), but in recent games he has integrated wonderfully into the lineup. The 5: 3: 2 that Koeman successfully tried. Whether as a stopper or right-back, if he improves some small aspects in the Barça game he will gain a significant screw for defense in the years to come, and how well he comes from the youth.
Serginio Dest, 20, Score: 6.5
The boy arrived as a big promise from Ajax and had already been nicknamed the “next Danny Alves” even before he set foot in it at Camp Nou. Koeman greatly appreciates the American who certainly shows sparks and also benefited from Sergi Roberto’s injury, as at the start of the season Dest did not get the same minutes as in recent times. The acquisition from Ajax is fast, thinks attack, has a great dribble and makes excellent mistakes, but sometimes errs in the last action in advance, when he also has more to learn in defense, but he will surely improve. This is a player with high self-criticism (similar to De Jong which we’ll get to later), and he watches his own games to learn from mistakes, so the desire to really get better is there.
Trinkau, 21, score: 6
The Portuguese knew he would not be a car player in the beginning, when in the opportunities he received from the bench (came up most often as a substitute this season in La Liga) he mostly missed twinkling situations and did not really make a difference – until the game against Betis came where he scored a huge goal. Since then the confidence of the winger has risen and he looks better on the pitch and gets continuity, so he has certainly become a worthy and legitimate replacement on the bench, with in the coming years it is not inconceivable that he will also open at 11 more regularly.
Anso Patti, 18, Score: 8
This kid is not Coman’s discovery but Ernesto Valverda’s debut at 16, but the Dutchman put him at the start of the season ahead of Griezmann and Dembele in rotation and Patty responded with five goals and four assists in just 10 appearances. Unfortunately in November he suffered a serious injury and the team is still waiting for him, but there is no doubt that this is the greatest talent that has grown in La Masia in recent years and it is a diamond that could lead the team for more than 10 years and was marked as Messi’s main successor.
Ricky Putch, 21, Score: 7
He doesn’t get too many minutes (and now after Moriba’s successful first games we’ll get to that later, even less), but when he’s on the pitch Barça suddenly looks more orderly. Pouch is a player who dares, fights, and never stops running and pressing, when his love for Barça is immense and can be deduced from his war at the start of the season, when although Koeman told him in other words he should leave, he preferred to stay and get crumbs of minutes where he would try to prove himself. He only got 17 games this season, when only in one he completed 90 minutes, but he also had exciting moments like a goal against Elche and the conquest of the last penalty against Sociedad in the penalty shootout in the Super Cup.
Frankie de Jong, 23, Score: 8.5
The oldest in the group of young people. The Dutchman did not start the season well, but in 2021 he gave gas just like the whole team, proving that Koeman does not just trust him and gives him a permanent place in the 11th. The change of lineup from 4: 5: 1 to 4: 3: 3 only did him good and allows him to play more up front, and so he also showed that he has conquering abilities and scored a number of important goals. In the era of Xavi and Iniesta, it has been proven that goals from link players are an important and crucial thing, and in addition to the wisdom of the game and the fact that it is very difficult to get the ball out of his feet, de Jong proves that he has a sense of exile.
Osman Dembele, 23, score: 7
Three days young from Mada Jung and highly valued by Koeman. He used to have discipline issues and delays, but this season he put it behind him, managed to stay fit almost throughout 2020/21 (for him this is an achievement in itself) and proved that the team is well worth renewing his contract ending in 2022. The wonderful expatriates against Sevilla in the last few games have only strengthened his position, and when he is not injured he can finally show his tremendous potential – mostly speed, a good finish and outstanding mistakes in the dribble. Still have to work on the latest delivery.
Ilaish Moriba, 18, played only 5 times
Barça’s latest discovery of the season (probably). The excellent connection that is compared to Pogba due to the similar appearance but also due to the ability is not given a score because he has barely played so far, but also in the 5 games he received he cooked twice and scored one wonderful goal. This is another young and hungry boy who recently celebrated 18 and demonstrates impressive physicality and exemplary confidence in relation to such a new player. He is still considered a midfielder in Barcelona B, but trust Coman who has recently been heavily involved and included in the squad that very soon he will be a legitimate player in the senior team.
