A few months ago, Isaac Cuenca was a name that very few people would have been familiar with outside of Spain. To some he may still remain Barcelona’s closely guarded secret, as he emerged through the youth ranks at La Masia, shrouded by the high-profile names and media spotlight on the first team. But many at the club see Cuenca’s introduction into the first team as a natural progression for the 20 year old Spaniard, who is already beginning to turn heads in the football world.
Aside from the instantly recognisable names to come out of Barcelona’s academy that dictate the performances of the first team today, many other talented young prospects have emerged in recent years. A few years ago, much of the talk was about Bojan Krkic who surfaced from the youth academy in 2006. His potential was quickly recognised as he progressed into the first team at just 17 years of age. He shared some of the same traits as Cuenca with his pace, trickery and technical skill on the ball. After playing over 100 competitive matches for the first team, with a goalscoring record of around one in four, people began to wonder if Bojan was too good to remain on the fringes of the first team. Sure enough, after consistently struggling to make the starting eleven despite his talents, he was sold to Roma last year.
Cuenca has the ability and opportunity to have a successful career at Barcelona. Particularly at the present time, there is room in the first team where Guardiola does give game time to squad players. With the heavy schedule that the club has, being involved in several competitions throughout the season, players with influential roles need a break at some point. The injury to David Villa has, in a way, freed up more room for experimentation in the side, with Barcelona playing many games without a recognised striker.
Not only does this require the use of more midfielders, of which Cuenca is predominantly used just slightly wider, but it also induces the notion of less rigidity and the challenge of finding new players for new roles. No longer do we see the same eleven playing the majority of the minutes in virtually all of the games, which gives great opportunities for players like Cuenca and Tiago to prove their worth.
Tiago is another player who was in a similar position to Cuenca, and is now a year or so ahead in terms of development. Unlike Cuenca however, Tiago’s career at Barcelona has not been interspersed with loan moves or deals with other clubs. He has spent the best part of 6 years training with the team and working his way up into the first team rotation. Consistency, loyalty and the ability to adopt the Barca philosophy of football has always been key to gaining the respect of the manager and players at the club and Tiago has obviously impressed. He, more than any youngster, appears to be integrated and although some suggested a loan deal at the start of this season would be a good thing for him to take up to gain more first team football, Tiago appears to be playing his way into Barcelona’s good books.
The route to the Catalan Giants’ team sheet has been slightly more inconsistent for Cuenca, with moves away to local sides from 2006 to 09 and then again last season. This is perhaps how he has stayed somewhat under the radar. However, now he has begun to show his true value and potential to become the player he aspires to be. After good form at loan side Sabadell, he was recalled to Barca where he has reached 20 first team appearances in all competitions so far this season, contributing 4 goals and 5 assists. There’s little doubt that Cuenca has the ability and willingness to become a part of the Barcelona set-up, like the La Masia predecessors who now light up the team sheet every week. When involved, he has the same fluidity and finesse about his game that we see in key members of the squad. Now he needs to get the consistency and appearances under his belt to slowly work his way into Guardiola’s plans for the future if he is to follow the path of becoming part of Barcelona’s illustrious history.
Follow me on Twitter: @HazbTwit
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.