Date: Sunday 29^th August 17:30

Competition: Primera RFEF Grupo II

Venue: Estadio Municipal de La Línea

Author: Les McKee

It is often said in football “Play the game, not the occasion”. On Sunday it will be important that Balona play the game and not the crest on the opposition’s shirt, as they will be faced with one of the world’s most recognisable club badges, the colossal Real Madrid C.F.

Real Madrid Castilla are the visitors for the opening game in Primera RFEF. A team made up of players who just a year ago were crowned UEFA Youth League Champions.

The continuity is in place as manager Raúl guided the U-19 side to glory alongside managing Real Madrid Castilla.

This is his 3^rd season in charge of nurturing the Castilla side which is ultimately the bridge between La Fábrica and the Santiago Bernabéu.

And it’s not just the players who are performing towards the dream of Real Madrid’s first team. Raúl will have ambitions of landing the top job, just like former Castilla managers Del Bosque, Benítez and Zidane.

So, who could Balona be up against this weekend?

Famous Names

Castilla could field Cañizares in goal, Zidane in midfield and Gudjohnsen up front. Whilst this may sound like some sort of late 90’s dream team, they are in fact the children of Santiago, Zinedine and Eidur respectively.

Andriy Lunin’s positive covid-19 diagnosis means that Toni Fuidias will be promoted to second choice goalkeeper for Real Madrid’s visit to Real Betis. So far this season, Ancelotti had named two goalkeepers on the bench. Taking Luis López would open the door for Cañizares to start.

Will we see any of those famous fathers in the stands at the Estadio Municipal this Sunday?

Players with First Team Experience

Sergio Arribas scored a golazo late on to win the game against Bilbao Athletic and last season he made eight substitute appearances for the first team. One-time Tranmere Rovers player Marvin Park was another who found himself stepping up to Real Madrid’s elite squad last season. Park made the first XI on a couple of occasions. Another who made starts last season was Antonio Blanco. He also made his full international debut in the game against Lithuania when Spain changed their whole side due to covid-19. Blanco completed the full 90 mins for Real Madrid on two occasions last season and this season has been on the bench for both games so far. It will be interesting to see which squad list he appears on for the weekend.

A mini Luis Figo

Right Winger Jaume Jardí made the move from FC Barcelona to Real Madrid this summer. Whilst not creating the same media circus that surrounded Luis Figo’s transfer back in 2000, picking up the U-19 captain of Barça could prove a canny bit of business.

European Champions

Nine of the starting XI from the victorious UEFA Youth League team are in the Castilla squad. Pablo Rodriguez moved to Lecce and Victor Chust has gone on loan to Cádiz to get first team experience in La Liga this season. This is a squad full of players that know what it takes to win

The positives for Balona

Despite the Youth League success, when it came to be playing against men it was not always as straight forward. Last season many of this current squad were in the team that were eliminated by UD Ibiza in the promotion play-offs. How they recover from being so close to promotion last time out remains to be seen.

One thing is for certain, this is a side that will be expecting a promotion push this season and have, despite their tender years, already experienced a lot in football under the guidance of a Real Madrid legend.

The Estadio Municipal is not the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano. The home of Balona can be an advantage with the away side used to facilities of a much higher calibre to what they will experience on Sunday.

Victor Chust was the main captain of the side last season and he is gone. The armband also rested on the arm of Antonio Blanco last season and he has been with the firsts so who will be the leader on the pitch for the young whites?

Enough about the opposition and more focus on what Balona can do. This pre-season La Recia lost despite putting up spirited performances against sides from a higher division, drew unfortunately against the only side from the same tier and defeated all sides they faced from a lower league. This would indicate that this side is a side that can compete in this group and they have the perfect opportunity to show that on Sunday against a fancied side.

This game will have a lot of eyes on it, more than if the visiting team had been someone else so this is a great chance for the likes of Coulibaly and Koroma to announce themselves to a huge audience. Loren who celebrated his birthday this week is another player who could have a huge impact on the result. The lad is Balona through and through and this is the perfect test for him right now.

Gerard Oliva can use all his experience to upset the new centre back pairing of Castilla in the absence of Chust and if Blanco is absent from centre midfield does this allow Coulibaly to dominate?

New captain Nacho Miras will be pivotal also. He has the all-seeing eyes and how he organises and motivates the ten in front of him whether things go to plan or not will be one to watch for.

This is going to be one game you do not want to miss as future legends of the game step onto the pitch in La Linea. When I say future legends of the game, I include Miras and Koroma in that number.

Some transfers cause a ripple effect, this one could cause a tidal wave that even crashes into Barça B v Balona this September.

It’s clearly a sad day for all Spanish football as Lionel Messi has agreed to join PSG on a two-year deal. The greatest FC Barcelona player of all time leaves a legacy that will never be matched and stats of goals per game and assists per game you can’t even achieve if you cheat the database on a football manager computer game.

Messi has been nothing short of incomparable. He delivered goal after goal and trophy after trophy for the Catalan giants. All good things however must come to an end and today they have.

Barcelona’s financial crisis is well documented and with La Liga forbidding Barça from re-registering Messi after his contract had expired it seemed despite his wanting to stay that his time at Camp Nou was over.

Of course, he went to the Copa America and duly delivered. Unemployed at club level he captained Argentina to glory against the host nation and arch rivals Brazil. A warm embrace with Neymar Jr. at full time was heart-warming. The two great friends saying goodbye before returning to Paris and Barcelona. How wrong we all were. Messi and Neymar would be seeing each other sooner than we thought.

The blow of losing Messi was compounded yesterday when it was also announced that new signing Sergio Agüero will be out injured for ten weeks. A double blow for the Blaugrana.

Ansu Fati, the potential heir to Messi’s throne, has been out since last November and we aren’t expected to see him back until mid-September.

Teenage sensation Pedri has played and played and played again going to the Euros and the Olympics so must be due some time off, although reports are to the contrary. A risk Barça seem willing to take with this mercurial talent.

Francisco Trincão played numerous times off the right for Barcelona last year but he has been loaned to Wolves as the plan seemed to be to get as many off the books as possible so Messi can stay.

So, what has all of this got to do with Balona I hear you ask!

Well it’s just over 6 weeks until Balona take the trip north to the Estadi Johan Cruyff to face Barcelona B in the Primera RFEF. The first team losses, financial crisis and the negative media circus surrounding the club is going to make an impact. Let’s look at some more factors.

Last season for Barça B, Ronald Araújo, Riqui Puig and Mingueza played many games in Segunda B as Barça’s filial missed out on promotion in the play-offs. It seems fair to say these three players are all first team squad members now.  That’s a big loss of experience for a side that is ultimately made up of youth players.

There constantly seems to be question marks from Koeman over Riqui Puig though. He’s even been encouraged to leave the club completely. I can only give my opinion and I think Puig is excellent, a talent that can change games, a magician who is unpredictable and belongs at the top table.

Alex Collado is one who is likely to step up to the first team squad. Collado captained the B side last season and his leadership will be missed.

Then there is Ilaix Moriba. Barça have given him an ultimatum. Sign the contract on offer or spend a year in the stands and leave on a free. The young starlet made several first team appearances last season and did not look out of place. Reports suggest he is willing to sit it out. Real Madrid, Chelsea and RB Leipzig are alleged to be monitoring this situation.

Konrad de la Fuente looked a star of the future for Barça B last season. He wasn’t prepared to wait for first team football and now he’s a star of the present at Marseille in Ligue 1.

Many of Barça B’s players have featured in the first team during pre-season. This is normal at big clubs. However, what this will have meant is that new gaffer at Barça B, Sergi Barjuán will have had less preparation time with his actual squad than Romerito.

Of those featuring in those earlier friendly games there was some stand outs. Rey Manaj notably notching a hat trick in one game before hitting the back of net again in the next.

So, will Sergi have a settled squad to work with over the next 6 weeks prior to facing Balona?

What impact will the absence of Messi around the training camp on Barça’s young talent? After all Messi came through the ranks as did many others to form the greatest Barça side we have ever seen. That must be a motivating factor for the B side players.

Ilaix Moriba has clearly decided Barça is no longer the place to be? Will others now think the grass is maybe greener elsewhere

Is Alex Collado solely a first team player now? Have Barça B lost their skipper for good?

Will the departure of Konrad de la Fuente prove to be another damaging loss?

Will the departure of Konrad de la Fuente prove to be anotherCould Koeman be forced to pinch attacking talent for the first team?

Such is the impact of the financial crisis at Barcelona. Barça B have been loaning in players for this season with an option to buy. A club of their magnitude loaning players to fill up their reserve squad.

Many Culés would welcome an influx of La Masia talent to the senior ranks, but with each one that goes does Balona face an easier task?

One stand out piece of business though seems to be the promotion of Alejandro Balde. At just 18 years old Barça have tied him down to a contract to 2024 with a buyout clause of €500m. The boy looks to be a huge talent. Koroma v Balde is going to be epic.

They’ve also added Antonio Aranda from Granada. The attacking midfielder struck a goal on his debut, which will have pleased Sergi.

There are so many questions to be answered, we will watch with interest how Barça B perform in their opener against Algeciras. On that very same opening weekend of the season Balona host Real Madrid Castilla.

This season promises to be something quite spectacular. History is ready to be written. Bring it on!!!

Group 2 fixtures for Primera RFEF 2021/22

Copy: Les McKee | Images: Getty & Real Balompédica Linense