The Johan Cruyff Stadium box, led by Rafa Yusef and Deco, was filled with footballers who were withdrawn from the lineup to watch the Barça Aleix and Alcoyano match, which ended in a goalless draw.
Injuries have been a headache for Juliano Belletti this season. Dani Rodríguez, Joan Anaya, and Òscar Gisau, the latest injured, watched the match from the stands. Ibrahim Diarra, a major club prospect, might spend the season without stepping on the pitch.
Juwensley Onsein and Patricio Pacifico, accompanied by his inseparable mother, still await their debut. Another winter signing, Joaquín Delgado, once again showed he was an immediate performance bet, starting the play that led to Barça’s only goal.
The fourth winter signing, Hamza Abdelkarim (18 years old), has returned to his home country, Egypt, to speed up the bureaucracy and obtain a work permit that allows him to take short-term trips away.
The paperwork is slow, and as known from MD, it is impossible to determine a debut date for Hamza. There are two precedents at Barça Aleix: Mamadou Mbacke and Mikayil Faye also returned to their countries trying to accelerate bureaucratic processes.
Hamza has been training with his teammates and has left good impressions. However, the lack of competitive rhythm has opened a new path for him. The club does not rule out that he starts playing a few minutes with the Juvenil A team to gain experience. This is something Onsein has already done to officially debut as a Barça player. The first step is obtaining the work permit. After that, it may be easier to register him as a Juvenil player than with Barça Aleix.
Ajay Tavares, a matter of hours
With injuries to Gisau and Víctor Barberá, who has already returned to field work, Delgado is the only player available to Belletti. Nuhu Fofana, with a youth contract, is also a usual in his squads.
Pol Planas’ Juvenil A team has had to reinvent Adrián Guerrero as a striker, and he is having a great season.
If everything goes as planned, Planas will be able to count on a signing to be announced officially in the next few hours: 16-year-old Ajay Tavares from English club Norwich. With Shane Kluiver accumulating minutes with the reserve team, Tavares will expand the offensive options of the youth squad.
