Martín Montoya made his first team debut in the last five minutes of Barça’s away game in Mallorca. He’s the 17th player from the reserves who has played with the first team in Guardiola’s era.
Montoya, “The Machine”
The Barcelona full-back has been given the nickname “Máquina” (“Machine”).
His physical strength and fitness is among the highest in the B team squad.
Since the summer of 2008, Guardiola has brought in players from the reserve team to cover positions
all over the park, from keepers to strikers. Miño, Montoya, Bartra, Fontàs, Sergio Gomez, Muniesa,
Jonathan dos Santos, Thiago Alcántara, Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto, Soriano and Nolito are the
players currently playing in Barca B who have already made their debuts under Guardiola, with four
more who have left the club: Gay, Abraham Botía and Xavi Torres also having featured for the first
team.
Sergio, the first
Pep Guardiola’s first gamble was Sergio Busquets, who made his debut at the Camp Nou
against Racing Santander in the second game of the 08/09 season. Since then, and up until
Saturday,17 reserve team players have played in the first team in an official match.
Sergi Roberto, the penultimate
Before Martin Montoya’s debut on Saturday in Palma, Reus
midfielder Sergio Roberto was the last player from the B Team to make his first team debut, in the
return leg of the first round of the Cup, in the Camp Nou, against Ceuta.
Well-deserved reward
Montoya's track record in the B Team is extraordinary. Until a few weeks ago he was the most
used player under Luis Enrique. The suspension of Daniel Alves opened the way for his presence in
the squad for the match in Mallorca. His debut, with the game already decided, was just reward for
his excellent performances as a defender in the B Team, making him the 17th player from the
reserves to debut for the first team.