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Espanyol players with Barça past


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15.12.2010 11:26

Espanyol players with Barça past

Jaume Marcet


Five members of the Espanyol squad are products of the Barça youth system. De la Peña, Víctor Ruiz, Baena, Sergio García and Verdú all played at FC Barcelona.


They’ll be 100% blue and white on Saturday, but all five have dreamed in the Barça colours in the past.

Iván, a star before his debut

Iván de la Peña is the most famous example. The Cantabrian signed as a cadet for FC Barcelona, and was one of the huge promises for the future that emerged from the B team playing in the Miniestadi in the 1990s.

w6.jpgHe made his debut under Cruyff in 95 and won a first team place under Robson in the 1996/97 season. But Van Gaal showed less interest and the player was eventually sold to Lazio. After an unsuccessful return to Barça he played for some years in France before joining Espanyol in 2002.

Sergio and Verdú

BF1F5788.jpgSergio García and Joan Verdú both made first team appearances for Barça, but couldn’t hold down their places, despite being excellent goalscoring promises in the youth teams. Sergio García was one of the highest scoring youth players ever to be produced by the club, while Verdú was always renowned for his creativity and team play.

Víctor and Baena

Víctor Ruiz is one of the greatest emerging names at Espanyol, and is the regular left-sided centre back under Pochettino. He played in the Barça alevin and infantil B teams, but as a left-sided midfielder.

José Raúl Baena, from Malaga, played for Barça’s youth system alongside Alberto Botía (the current Sporting centre back) and Giovani dos Santos (the Tottenham striker). Baena was a central playmaker at Barça in the cadet and juvenil B teams.
Espanyol players with Barça past

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Presence on Barça TV
When they were at FCB, both Sergio and Verdú appeared in programmes about the youth players shown on the FC Barcelona television channel.

In an interview on Barça TV on October 2003, Verdú felt “very close to playing in the first team … I sense the coaches’ confidence in me … I have improved a lot here and am making good progress thanks to the efforts of the Barça coaches and players like Ramon Ros, Iniesta and Sergio García.”

Sergio García also appeared on a Canal Barça programme in 2001 when he played for Juvenil A. “I have come back to my club after two years at Damm, where I learned to appreciate the grandeur of FC Barcelona”, said Sergio.


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