Pau Cubarsí: The Next Great Center Back
Barcelona remains firm in the title race as they were able to beat Alaves 1-0 at home. Robert Lewandowski's goal in the 61st minute, assisted by Lamine Yamal, would be the deciding goal for Barcelona. After Real Madrid's 1-0 loss to Espanyol, Barcelona is now only four points back from first place, and a game against Real set to take place on May 11th could see one of the two take the league title. For Barcelona, as Yamal gets the credit for being a young star talent, his counterpart Pau Cubarsí, who joined the first team at the same time as Yamal, is also set to become a star in the future.
Beginnings
Cubarsí joined Barcelona La Masia from Spanish side Girona as a U12 player in 2018. Cubarsí spent his time in La Masia growing with talents such as defensive midfielder Marc Bernal and the aforementioned Yamal. A 16-year-old Cubarsí would be a key contributor to Barca Atlètic, providing leadership and the ability to bring the ball out. Cubarsí would be called up to the first team for a January 2024 Copa del Rey match against Unionistas by former manager Xavi Hernández. His name would be well known in world football after his Champions League debut against Napoli in a 3-1 victory to advance Barcelona to the Quarterfinals. In the match, Cubarsí was named Man of the Match, shutting down former Napoli star forward Victor Osimhen. He would remain a starter for the remainder of the season. He would even earn a call-up to be a starter for Spain's gold medal win in the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they beat hosts France in the final 5-3.
History in the Making
Cubarsí, in his second season, has become Barcelona’s staple center-back under new manager Hansi Flick. Under Flick, Cubarsí has now been able to lead Barcelona's back line to become the team with the most forced offsides in all of Europe. With impressive performances against the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Cubarsí has never backed down. His excellent vision and passing out the back have been an integral piece to Barcelona’s scoring success this season. At the age of 18 and having a market value of 70 million euros, Cubarsí is a rare talent at his position. To be calm and as experienced as him at this age is truly something that only La Masia and Barcelona can create.
