Frank Rijkaard has been forced to turn to Barça B to form a squad to play Espanyol at Montjuïc. Marc Crosas, Botía and Víctor Sánchez have all been named in a list that features 10 home produced players.
There are an alarming number of absences in the Barça squad
that makes the short trip up the road to Espanyol this weekend. Frank Rijkaard is missing Henry,
Eto'o, Deco, Thuram, Edmílson, Oleguer, Giovani and Sylvinho and has been forced to call up Marc
Crosas, Alberto Botía and Víctor Sánchez. That makes 10 local players in the team, with those three
joining regular first team players Valdés, Jorquera, Puyol, Iniesta, Messi, Xavi and Bojan.
Crosas is often given the chance to play with the first team, but this will be a new
experience for Botía and Sánchez.
Alberto Botía is an 18 year old centre back, noted for his strength and character. Despite
his young age he made his Barça B debut last season. Víctor Sánchez, meanwhile, is 20 and a multi
purpose midfielder enjoying his first season with the reserves.
Thuram and Giovani have problems
Lilian Thuram and Giovani Dos Santos were both doubts for Saturday and have been left out.
The French defender has been struggling with his right thigh and the Medical Services have decided
that it would not be wise to ask him to play. Meanwhile, Giovani has injured ligaments in his left
ankle and is still finding it painful to kick the ball. He will be undergoing even more intense
treatment for the next ten days, when a further evaluation of his progress will be made.
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