Barça’s Young Defenders’ Quandary.

Another season with a new manager yet the outcome for Barça’s young defenders Martin Montoya and Marc Bartra remains unchanged.  The duo have been rotating their seats with the bench and the stands. With the season now rolling into the insane cycle of two games a week, these young players have to play. The club cannot take for granted that since they came through La Masia, these players will not complain and seek an exit. Such wishful thinking could lead to familiar problems yet again.

Thiago was a perfect example of players exhibiting ambition by seeking a new change in order to gain minutes. Many assumed that Thiago would stay put and accept being a bench player who hardly features since he came through La Masia and thus, was loyal. The club then saw the young phenom pack his bags and head to Bayern Munich. Barça face the same dilemma with their two young defenders Montoya and Bartra. Both have hardly featured this season when they should be.

It’s no surprise that there have been media reports that the young players are upset at their lack of playing time which is why they are reluctant to sign new deals with the club. Some would say that they should be patient and their moment will come. Some attributed that same argument to Thiago and complained that he should have been patient like his peers Xavi and Iniesta. However, those two did not have legends playing ahead of them and actually made more appearances at Thiago’s age than he did.

Bartra has also been rotating from bench and the stands. He is the number one choice if either Pique or Mascherano get hurt. Yet, he has not played since representing Spain this summer. One would expect the club to learn from last season’s mistakes of not giving the young defender more playing time to prevent him from making an appearance in case of an injury to one of the center backs, while in a rusty condition. Based on the situation, I thought Bartra did the best that he could against Bayern seeing as he was not constantly playing. However, if Puyol is to make a healthy return, where would Bartra’s minutes come from?

Yesterday, Montoya was on the bench and Bartra was in the stands collecting rust yet again. The club made the big mistake of not signing center backs this summer and so they need to rotate as much as they can in a season as this where the calendar is congested with far too many games without ample time for rest. This is when you depend on the youth to give the veterans some games to rest and keep everyone healthy.

We will soon see whether Tata will go ahead and implement those moves. If not, then expect these young players to continue to be frustrated and perhaps seek an exit in the winter transfer window. That could spell trouble for the club and could also cast a negative reflection for the young players with Barça B who might contemplate their futures too.