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New Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has sent a key message to the many impressive young players at the club after taking over the Catalan giants from Ronald Koeman.
Xavi addressed the youngsters in the dressing room before his first game in charge against Espanyol on Saturday, November 20. The new boss told his players not to be afraid to take risks and be willing to “go a little crazy,” as reported by Javier Miguel at Diario AS.
“Do not worry about failures, the more you fail, the more I want you to try it again. I don’t care how many times you fail, I want to see you look at the goal, shoot and dare to do anything,” he said before kick-off. “The veterans, those who have played the most games, are the ones who have to put order on the field, you have permission to risk, and even more so when you are in a high block, there you have to go a little crazy and try everything.”
Xavi raised eyebrows with his team selection by naming 17-year-old Ilias Akhomach in his starting XI and giving the youngster his first-team debut. Ilias was part of a youthful team that also included teenagers Gavi and Nico Gonzalez and won 1-0 at the Camp Nou.
The new Barcelona boss also brought on 19-year-old Ez Abde at half-time for Ilias which highlights the amount of young talent available to Xavi. Barcelona have now used 10 players under the age of 21 in La Liga already this season, according to Opta.
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Ilias and Abde Can’t Play in UCL
Xavi’s decision to play Ilias was influenced by issues in attack as the coach was without attackers Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Sergio Aguero, and Martin Braithwaite due to injury.
However, his selection also demonstrated the new boss is not afraid to turn to youth. Xavi’s assistant and brother, Oscar Hernandez, explained to Barca TV why the 17-year-old had been given a chance, as reported by Diario Sport.
“He’s a winger who runs, he can beat a man one on one, he tries things, makes the pitch wide,” he said. “In our way of playing we need that. He deserves the chance.”
Yet neither player Ilias nor Abde will be able to feature in Barcelona’s next game against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday, November 23. Ilias is suspended after being sent off in the UEFA Youth League, while Abde has not been registered to play in Europe for the first team, as reported by Sport.
Pedri Wins 2021 Golden Boy Award
Another impressive young player who is unavailable is 19-year-old Pedri who remains on the injured list with a thigh problem. However, there has been some good news for the midfielder ahead of the game as he’s won the 2021 Golden Boy Award.
The prestigious award is handed out annually to the best Under-21 player in Europe and previous winners include Erling Haaland, Joao Felix, and Matthijs de Ligt. Pedri is just the second Barca player to win the award after Lionel Messi in 2005.
Pedri finished top by some distance from Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, claiming 318 points to his rival’s 119. The award is handed out by Italian newspaper Tuttosport who confirmed that, “never in the history of the Golden Boy trophy has there been such a gigantic gap” between first and second place.
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