Published 2024-04-10 10.38
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16-year-old Lamine Yamal in all its glory.
Against Paris Saint-Germain, it could rather be another La Masia mega-talent that becomes the key to success for FC Barcelona.
– I’m sure he’s good enough to make history at this club, says coach Xavi about centre-back Pau Cubarsi, 17.
- Pau Cubarsi, 17-year-old centre-back for FC Barcelona, is praised by his coach Xavi before the match against Paris Saint-Germain.
- He has taken a regular place in the team and started the last seven games, particularly impressing in the round of 16 against Napoli in the Champions League.
- Cubarsi, a product of Barcelona’s youth system, La Masia, has his strengths in his passing game and composure on the pitch.
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– He will get to know Pau Cubarsi.
It is the night after Barcelona’s victory against Atlético Madrid in La Liga in March. The Spanish evening football programme The Jugones Chiringuito spends much of its program discussing how difficult it will be for Kylian Mbappé to get past Pau Cubarsi when the teams meet in the Champions League, and panelist Jota Jordi states that Barça’s 17-year-old centre-back will have the French megastar in his pocket in the upcoming CL quarter-finals.
It must be said that he does not get much approval from the rest of the studio, rather laughter. If the outcome had come a couple of months earlier, most people would probably have rather asked:
– Who is Pau Cubarsi?
Here and now, however, there is still a certain rhyme and reason behind Jota Jordi’s actions.
Because if Kylian Mbappé doesn’t actually already know who Pau Cubarsi is, he hasn’t done his research.
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fullscreen chevron-rightnextPau Cubarsi during a match against Las Palmas.
1 / 2Foto: Alex Caparros / Getty Images
Took a regular shirt
While it may have been offensive mega-talent Lamine Yamal who grabbed the biggest international headlines during his breakout season, peer Pau Cubarsi’s establishment at senior level is just as sensational.
Despite everything, the 17-year-old during the spring took the chance when he got it. The chance has been taken with such seriousness that he now owns a regular shirt in a Barcelona central lock where players like Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Iñigo Martinez make up the competition.
He has started seven consecutive competitive matches, where he was a prominent figure both in the CL round of 16 against Napoli and in the aforementioned victory against Atlético Madrid in the league.
Add to that that he managed to make his A national team debut last month as well.
– He is the future of this club, said fellow defender Ronald Araujo, according to AP, after the victory against Napoli.
There, the 17-year-old was named player of the match – while he was the youngest CL debutant in a knock-out round ever (Yamal made his debut in the group stage after all).
– It was one of the best days of my life. I am extremely happy for the award, but above all because the club will again play in the quarter-finals after a few tough years, said Cubarsi himself after that evening against Napoli.
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full screen Kylian Mbappé’s PSG face Barcelona on Wednesday evening. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images
Xavi’s tribute: “Can create history”
It’s hard not to draw comparisons with other young backs who have broken through from La Masia. Like club icons Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. Or for that matter, somewhat more recently, teammate Ronald Araujo when he stepped up to the A team. And Cubarsi stands out perhaps most when it comes to the playmaking ability, pressure resistance and passing foot that constantly tries to find passes up the lane rather than sideways. If you ignore the fact that he plays with a composure as if he were much older than he just turned 17.
– Cubarsi is the best play-distributing defender we have. “It’s spectacular to see him and he’s only 17,” coach Xavi said after the 4-0 win over Getafe in February.
– Cubarsi surprises you every day. When I imagine in my head a “correct” pass he should make, he instead makes an even better pass. I am sure he is good enough to make history at this club.
Big words – especially from a coach who is known above all for being one of the world’s all-time best passers and midfielders.
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fullscreenXavi Hernandez. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images
“Don’t think about my age”
However, the centre-back himself, who joined the club from Girona when he was 12, remains calm despite the superlatives and the breakthrough he has had.
– My family and friends help me keep my feet on the ground, which is fundamental. It makes me much more relaxed about everything that happens to me, says the defender himself in an interview with the club’s website.
Having said that, he still feels both pressure and pride.
– When you play for Barça there is always extra pressure, because wearing this shirt is the most important thing in the world. But when I go out on the field, I don’t think about my age. I just feel like another player who wants to help the team.
If Barcelona is to get past the upcoming Champions League duel against PSG, it will require a new sensational effort from the 17-year-old in the middle lock – who will start in central defense again.
In the round of 16, after all, he completely shut down Napoli’s attacking star Victor Osimhen.
In advance, it is actually not entirely unthinkable that he could conceivably do the same with Kylian Mbappé.
