In cooperation with Goal light football zone twice a week young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time the focus is on the 17-year-old Álex Balde, who is making an excellent impression in the preparation for Barcelona. He will even start the coming season as Jordi Alba’s first second, for whom they could not find the perfect stand-in for years.
It’s not a week Barcelona fans will soon forget. The sight of Lionel Messi wearing a Paris Saint-Germain shirt at the Parc-des-Princes has left countless supporters around the world with a sour taste, and for good reason. Messi’s forced departure is one of the absolute lows in the illustrious club history and it is difficult to predict how Barcelona will fare next season without his talisman of the last 15 years.
The future must look very bleak for anyone who cares about the Catalans, but the pre-season games prove that there is also a little light at the end of the tunnel. Apart from the financial drama, things don’t look that bad at Camp Nou. Ronald Koeman already ensured that the influx from youth complex La Masia started again last year and this season there are more young talents to look forward to.
Self-trained midfielders Gavi and Nico Gonzalez have shown that they are ready for the bigger job, while new signing Yusuf Demir is likely to be the man to replace Messi in the starting line-up in the early weeks of the season. At least until the European Championship-goers and Copa América players are back from their vacations. The Austrian with Turkish roots is only eighteen years old and has everything to become a sensation at Barcelona, as does left-back Alejandro – or as he is referred to in Spain – Álex Balde, who is one year younger.
The young left-back has been referred to as one of the greatest defensive talents in the youth academy for years and seems to be joining the first team this season. The club waved Junior Firpo off to Leeds United this summer, making Jordi Alba the only left-back Koeman still has at his disposal. The club management know that it lacks the finances to buy a replacement and yet they were flexible when the interest in Firpo became concrete, so it is immediately clear that they have full confidence in Balde.
More than rightly so, thinks former Barcelona Under-19 coach Franc Artiga. “Balde is perfect for Barcelona. If they had been able to enter the market, they would also have ended up with a comparable player,” he says in conversation with Goal and football zone. “It would be perfect if he could mature quietly behind Alba. For example, that he participates in ten games with the first. Of course, you don’t immediately think of the top matches, but there are plenty of moments when Koeman can bring him,” predicts Artiga.
Balde has been seen in Catalonia as a great talent for years. In fact, ever since he left Espanyol for Barcelona in 2012 at the age of eight. The son of a Guinean father and a Dominican mother effortlessly progressed to a higher level every year, won the title in every age category and made a big impression last season in his sixteen appearances for Barcelona B. In the eyes of Koeman he deserved a chance. in the preparation, although it also helps him that Alba returned from the European Championship late.
As a result, he even got a basic place in the exhibition game against Nastic de Tarragona. Koeman could also have chosen to move Sergiño Dest from right-back to left-back as he regularly did last season, but the coach said he wanted to see how Balde would fare. Good, is the short answer. He hardly did anything wrong, although it should of course be noted that the opponent is not of the level that Barcelona normally competes against.
Three days later he was given another chance as a basic player against Girona and now Balde really showed what he has to offer. The left-back kept steaming up and gave Girona’s defense a lot of trouble with his direct way of dribbling. It even earned him a penalty, which was shot in by Gerard Pique. “He is very powerful and technically very strong”, Artiga nods. “Ideal for attacking teams. He is a spectacular player. As soon as he sees a hole somewhere, he flies in to make room for himself or for his fellow players. He does not shy away from dirty meters and is therefore very valuable.”
Despite his good performances, however, he immediately moved back to the bench as soon as Alba joined the roster. However, Balde was allowed to fill in again against Red Bull Salzburg and against Juventus, which makes it clear how Koeman feels about him. He will probably get a spot in the match selection on Sunday when Barcelona takes on Real Sociedad in the first round of the competition. That is certainly a deserved reward for his rapid advance, but Artiga warns that Balde absolutely must not think that he is already there.
“He has a very good physique and is blessed with a lot of talent, but tactically he still has steps to make,” said the trainer about his former pupil. “He is constantly going by his impulse. That is of course a matter of getting older, gaining experience and learning from things you experience in competitions”, explains Artiga. “I’m sure he’ll do really well in the first one, but he still needs time to mature and improve tactically. That takes patience, but I am convinced that he will pick it up soon.”
Although Artiga is emphatically putting on the brakes, fans are now certain that he can replace Alba in the long term. Balde is on a contract until 2024 now that he has signed a new contract this summer. His transfer fee is no less than 500 million euros, so it is clear Barcelona do not like to see him go. “It’s really just a matter of time before he reaches the required level. He has everything for Barça’s game,” concludes his former youth coach. “I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to find anyone in the transfer market who would be a better fit in the next few years. Balde is the ideal man.”