Welcome back Barcelona, built from La Masia and ready to take on Real Galacticos
“Who’s laughing now?” asked Xavi after his Barcelona side exorcised some of their European demons, defeating Napoli to progress to their first Champions League quarter-final since 2020.
There is nothing funny about the Los Cules’ dire financial state but Wednesday night again showed that to go forward they should go back to basics and trust in what their greatest teams are remembered for: La Masia products and young talent.
While Barca still boast Champions League-winning veterans in Ilkay Gundogan and Robert Lewandowski (scorer of the tie-clinching third goal), the real takeaway was the presence and performances of the three youngest players in the line-up: Fermin Lopez, Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal.
Twenty-year-old Lopez coolly slotted home a 15th-minute opener, making the most of a rare start in a midfield ravaged by injuries.
Cubarsi made an eight consecutive start at the heart of defence and – having only turned 17 in January – was tasked with taking care of Victor Osimhen, which he duly did in large part with the “calmness” and “intelligence” both Xavi and Lewandowski have praised him for.
Yamal, who is still 16, is the real star boy of the current crop, having broken all types of records since making his senior debut in April 2023, which saw him become the youngest Barca debutant in over a century.
He has since gone on to become the youngest starter for the club in La Liga and the youngest in Champions League history, as well as Spain’s youngest international and scorer.
READ: Europe’s top 10 Under-21 stars includes Yamal
It didn’t come as any surprise that he played on Tuesday night: he has featured in all but one of the side’s league and European games this season, with his four La Liga goals more than double anyone at his age ever. In all competitions, he has six goals and seven assists.
Rather amazingly, he and Cubarsi are almost a year younger than Lewandowski combined.
The kids might be good enough, but they are also playing out of necessity such are Barca’s injuries and form, and the general malaise in which the club finds itself. Their importance is only likely to grow in the coming years.
This summer is likely to see several high-profile sales as Joan Laporta looks to keep heads above water with debts mounting, the Nou Camp being redeveloped and no more of those levers seemingly there to pull.
Joao Felix, on loan from Atletico Madrid, is one of said big names set to depart, having fallen out of favour under Xavi as his once-promising career continues to flounder. He only made it off the bench this week.
Another Joao on loan, Cancelo, might be of value and scored the second, but it remains to be seen whether Barca can feasibly spend any real money in the summer.
It’s transfer fees and wages spent on such glamour names – Coutinho, Griezmann, Dembele to name just a few – that has put them in this position as they tried to compete in the arms race with the Premier League, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
Madrid are the most obvious barometer to measure Barca against, and their current guises could not be in starker contrast.
While Florentino Perez further assembles Los Galacticos 3.0 or The Avengers 2.0 with the signings of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick this summer, Barca will be relying on their homegrown stars.
It might sound rather grim but it does give the club an opportunity to rediscover the identity it has lost in recent years – that of the alternative, the underdog and the more likeable of Spain’s big two.
The club, after all, is a symbol of Catalonian independence, separatism and resistance against the republic, the capital and the ruling order. Their slogan, ‘Mes Que un Club’, is a testament to that.
Never was that more apparent in the Franco years when the Nou Camp was one of the few places it was safe to display any tiny bit of local pride. Barca regularly found themselves up against it from the capital sides, even losing out on the transfer of Alfredo Di Stefano after both them and Real agreed deals to sign him.
While Real dominated Europe and acted as a great foreign policy tool for Franco, Barca didn’t win a European Cup until 1992 when the foundations laid by Johan Cruyff as a player were built upon by the Dutch icon as a player.
Pep Guardiola, Guillermo Amor and Albert Ferrer all started the final win against Sampdoria as La Masia’s production line began to deliver.
In fact, all five of their successes in the continent’s biggest competition have had a local flavour: Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Busquets, Iniesta, Xavi, Pedro and Messi, just in case anyone forgot.
It was one of the things that made the club and those teams so special – their lack of a sponsor also helped, but such is their financial plight and the state of the sport in general, that is no longer practical.
The issues of late, as well as allegations of referee corruption and rumours of doping, have greatly sullied that once-shining legacy, but it is not one beyond repair.
The absence of Gavi and Pedri (bought from Las Palmas) on Tuesday night should act as a warning, however. Both midfielders have been overplayed since their debuts as teens, and are now suffering the consequences, just as Ansu Fati did.
The hope is that the heirs apparent to Xavi and Iniesta can come back alongside Yamal, Cubarsia and the others undoubtedly set to graduate from the academy soon.
At some point in the future, Los Cules will be able to sign superstars again – as they have always done – but for now, whoever succeeds the departing Xavi in the summer will look to build towards a brighter future around these young stars.
