A derby with home-grown influence
Xavi Hernández hasn't hidden his commitment to the Barça DNA and philosophy down the years. During a thrilling debut against Espanyol, the legendary La Masia-trained midfielder backed the emerging young Barça talent. His first line-up had home-grown hallmarks as eight of the eleven starters were players that came through the FC Barcelona youth ranks.
These were Òscar Mingueza, Gerard Piqué, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Nico, Gavi and Ilias Akhomach.
The 17-year-old winger is the first to debut in the Xavi era. Yet more proof of the identity that the coach wants to create. An identity that showcases the quality of the La Masia talent and youth, as the coach brought on more young players in Abde, Riqui Puig, Ronald Araujo and Yusuf Demir as the game progressed.
As such, it became quite clear that from day one that the ex-Barça number 6 trusted youth football as part of his philosophy - a key component of the history of the Barça first team. La Masia constantly provides players for first-team matches and this simply had to continue during the debut of one of the most notable youth players ever.
Xavi continues to promote Barça youth players
The trend was set in previous Barça games, but eight La Masia players in the starting line up was a first. The previous highest during this 2021/22 season was seven, through Sergi Barjuan against Celta, Dynamo Kyiv and Alavés, and Ronald Koeman against Madrid and Valencia. It is also laudable that the Dutch ex-coach used nine La Masia players against Levante.
Youth and La Masia
Ten players from La Masia were involved in the win against Espanyol. Excluding the captains, Sergio, Piqué and Jordi Alba, the other seven players were all aged under 22 years old with a promising future: Akhomach (17), Gavi (17), Nico and Abde (19), Eric Garcia (20), Riqui Puig and Mingueza (22 años). Two other young players were also involved: Ronald Araujo (22), who despite not coming through La Masia, spent two seasons with Barça B, and Demir (18).
The willingness and philosophy of new coach Xavi Hernández appears to indicate that La Masia will remain prominent. A keystone of the Barça DNA since Johan Cruyff took the helm, it represents the forefront of the Barça of the future, Xavi's Barça - precocious talent, with a specific focus on home-grown players.