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.
He
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
Sergio 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.
To view this content you need the latest version of the Flash Player
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.