‘La Masia can be the future’ – Barcelona youngsters hopeful of earning first-team spot

Barcelona’s pre-season tour of the USA came to an end last night as they lost to AC Milan on penalties after playing out a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

The Blaugrana finished the tour with two wins against Manchester City and Real Madrid, with the only defeat coming against Milan last night.

The tour was a learning experience for a host of young talent that manager Hansi Flick took along with him and handed plenty of minutes over the course of the three matches.

Sergi Dominguez hopeful of following in Cubarsi’s footsteps

One of the young players to have featured quite prominently during the tour is defender Sergi Dominguez.

The La Masia ace held his own against the likes of Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr. in the earlier matches and played almost 80 minutes against AC Milan last night as well.

Speaking after the game, the young defender insisted that the team had made great progress during the tour and that he hoped to follow in the footsteps of other La Masia talents like Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal to become a part of the senior team.

“The pre-season has been very good and we have taken steps forward,” said Dominguez.

“Flick hasn’t spoken to me. If he has to, he’ll do it in Barcelona. I hope I can do what Cubarsí has done, but I’ll be ready wherever I’m needed. La Masia can be the future of the club. You can see it with Lamine, Cubarsí, Fermín…,” he added.

Gerard Martin happy with his chances

Gerard Martin is another young player who made an impression on the US tour. The left-back featured in all three matches against Manchester City, Real Madrid, and AC Milan, and made a strong case for him to be the backup left-back next season.

Speaking after last night’s contest, the 22-year-old left-back insisted that he felt he had done well and expressed hope of becoming a part of the first-team setup.

“The games I’ve played I think I’ve done well. I’ve tried to make the most of the opportunity and now we’ll see what happens. I’ve come here to try to do my best. I’m confident and I’m looking forward to it and I feel good,” Martin said.

“Time will tell if I can be in the first team. I feel good, I’ve to make the most of the chances and whatever happens, will happen. I’ve been able to play in all three games and I think I’ve performed well and I’m very happy with how it’s gone.”

On how he felt about working with Barcelona’s new first-team coach Hansi Flick, Martin added:

“I think Flick is a very good coach and he’s not going to have a problem putting in whoever deserves it. He’s trusting the youngsters without a problem. He demands a lot from us physically, but that’s what he has to do to keep us at our best.”

“We’re a bit tired, but we have time to recover,” he said signing off.

Source: SPORT