Barcelona drew in the first pre-season friendly, against a rival from the second Spanish Federation, such as Olot. A game without much importance, due to the fact that most of the beginners were missing, but it helped Xavi Hernandez make many positive conclusions, as well as see some young talent in action. Among them are Arnao Casas, Alex Valle, Shadi Riad or Marc Casado, who were part of Juvenile A, who managed to win the Champions Cup just a few weeks ago.
Ilias Achumach, one of La Masia’s greatest jewels, and Mika Marmol or Eternal Eternal, from the subsidiary, can also be seen in action. Though without a doubt, the great news is to see Ansumani Fati on the pitch, who is hoping to leave behind the injuries that have accompanied him in the past two seasons. But the great protagonist of the showdown was the newcomer, Pablo Toure, as he left great detail on his incredible quality and vision for the game.
He gave reasons to justify the bet Joan Laporta made for him, paying five million euros to Racing Santander, the team in which he has fully developed his sporting career so far. He has been a key player with his team, helping them return to the Spanish second division, becoming First RFEF champions. His performances in the third category of Spanish football helped attract the interest of Real Madrid or Sevilla, among others.
But he ended up choosing to go down at Camp Nou, where he would initially start with the subsidiary. However, it is not excluded that he will end up staying in the first team, as happened to Pedri Gonzalez. Because he managed to stun in his first weeks as a Barcelona player, and Xavi is the first to be impressed. He really excelled in training, he was the best in the team against Olot.
The former Al Sadd coach believes he’s found a new diamond in the rough, and it didn’t take him long to compare him to Andres Iniesta in his fantasy plays. Although he must continue to show that level in the upcoming matches, he is playing if he wants to stay in the first team.
Aside from Toure, who is already considered by many to be one of Barcelona’s long-running great discoveries, there has also been time to see Frank Casey in action. The African player was introduced only a few days ago, and was already able to get his first minutes on orders from Xavi.
Although he obviously lacked competitive rhythm, like most of his teammates, he left very good feelings in midfield.