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Such is the obsession lately to honor the figure of Johan Cruyff that, sometimes, it is not easy to separate the propaganda from the claim. Fireworks and ribbons cut from respect for an ideology . To a government work. Even more than two years after the elections for the presidency of Barcelona and after a long period - specifically since the end of the Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova stages - in which the result was prioritized to the formation. The seasonal players of La Masia.

One day after Valverde dusted off the pride in the quarry after the premieres at Camp Nou de Carles Pérez (21 years old) and Ansu Fati (16), the Barcelona board inaugurated a statue dedicated to Dutch genius. Planted on the esplanade of the Barcelona stadium next to the figure of Kubala, the family of the legendary footballer and coach celebrates the recognition. Also that the red roof stadium that will be inaugurated on Tuesday at the Joan Gamper Sports Center is named JohanCruyff. There will play Barça B, the women's team and Juvenile A -only in European competition-. Even the club is looking for a way to rename the Aristides Maillol street that borders the Camp Nou to dedicate it to the flying Dutchman . Another Dutchman, in this case Patrick Kluivert, has been the new head of the quarry for a month despite being bisoño in the matter.

Pep Segura, who was Barcelona's sports manager - that is, the figure through which all decisions regarding Barça football went - was fired this summer. The managers Silvio Elias and Xavier Vilajoana reproached him for the disfiguration of La Masia, without any impact on the first team, with questionable game patterns, and where leaks accumulated. On one occasion, a journalist asked Segura the reason why the last squad to settle in the first team was Sergi Roberto, a football player who debuted in 2011 and with Pep Guardiola still as a coach . The leader referred to the "plug" of the first template, with hierarchical structures difficult to change. Although perhaps the real explanation is offered by a historic quarry worker: «For a boy to play the coach must put it. La Masia's health is fabulous . There is the generation that won the Youth League in 2018. But you have to give opportunities ».

100 million clauses

That's where Ernesto Valverde comes in, who has started his third season at Barcelona ready for a redemption that only time will tell if it is feasible or not. If he responds only to the urgencies of the squad - Carles Pérez played once Messi, Suárez and Dembélé were injured, and after the club got rid of Coutinho, Malcom and Boateng -, or the need to color the story -Ansu Fati, who played the last quarter of an hour against Betis, had not even played an official minute with Barcelona B-. Carles Aleñá , headline in San Mamés, discarded against Betis, premiered with Luis Enrique. Still looking for his place.

Valverde, during his career at the Camp Nou bench, has made debut to 11 youth players - they should not receive such consideration Moussa Wagué or Arnaiz, despite ascending in his day from the subsidiary. David Costas, now in Celta, played 32 minutes with the first team. Cucurella, transferred last year to Eibar and transferred this summer to Getafe, played seven minutes. The rest of the debutants continue with the record of the subsidiary after their episodic appearances in the nobility : Riqui Puig (192 minutes), Juan Miranda (315 minutes), Chumi (238 minutes), Jorge Cuenca (61 minutes), Oriol Busquets (117 minutes) , Álex Collado (84 minutes) and Abel Ruiz (21 minutes). The last to arrive have been Carles Pérez, whose emergence refers to that of Pedro Rodríguez 11 years ago (109 minutes), and the aforementioned Ansu Fati (12 minutes), which came from dazzling this summer in the preseason of Barça B despite the fact that his place was in Juvenil A by Víctor Valdés.

Fati, whose renovation a month ago "was worse than a delivery" - as they recognize in the Barca entity - has a contract until 2022, extendable for two more seasons. It has a termination clause set at 100 million euros. The same conditions signed the other big bet of the quarry of Barcelona, ​​Ilaix Moriba, born in Guinea and also 16 years old . «It would become our Pogba», argue sources from Barcelona, ​​who admit the need to filter in the face of market pressure. «Xavi Simmons, before signing for the PSG, asked us for a million euros. And it wasn't even among the five best projects in our quarry .

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  • Ansu Fati
  • Pep Guardiola
  • Luis Enrique
  • Coutinho
  • Ernesto Valverde
  • Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira
  • Ousmane Dembélé
  • PSG
  • sports
  • FC Barcelona
  • football
  • First division

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