Barcelona have secured tag team ballers destined to dominate a generation
La Masia has recently reminded everyone of its supernatural power to churn out world beaters for Barcelona, but now it appears the famed academy is going global.
Like Scott Steiner once said in the greatest wrestling promo of all time, the numbers don’t lie, and that spells disaster for the rest of us mere mortals.
Just as they appeared to be on the brink, Barcelona’s brilliant youth system bailed them out and gave them a second chance following financial disaster.
Xavi came in and steadied the ship by integrating some of their brightest young stars, notably introducing the world to Lamine Yamal.
In the time since, Hansi Flick has arrived and begun to write what looks to be a brilliant chapter of the story, building on Xavi’s foundations and promoting more young talent while letting the likes of Yamal and Pau Cubarsi shoulder more responsibility.
Suddenly, the club in financial turmoil appear to have an embarrassment of riches once again.
And they’ve just added two of African football’s most promising talents into the mix. Enter Ibrahim Diarra and Arouna Traore.
Swapping Mali for Catalonia, La Blaugrana have agreed a deal to sign the two teenagers from the Academie Africa Foot. Diarra joins having already spent a brief period with the club in the past and is expected to link up with the B-team upon turning 18 in December.
Traore, meanwhile, will follow the path previously walked by his colleague and come over to spend a period of time with the club, before heading back to Mali to continue his development.
Considering how that’s panned out for Diarra, though, and considering Traore’s potential, we wouldn’t be surprised if he’s back in Europe before long.
17-year-old Diarra plays his best stuff from the right flank and upon watching the tapes, it becomes immediately clear why Barcelona are so starry-eyed.
With the way the ball sticks to his foot under pressure, you’d be forgiven for thinking that he’d already undergone the La Masia apprenticeship.
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Barcelona’nın €2m bonservis bedeli karşılığında bünyesine kattığı Malili kanat oyuncusu Ibrahim Diarra.pic.twitter.com/Udmz3i0asw
— Scoutizm (@Scout1zm) November 21, 2024
Representing Mali at the Under-17 World Cup in 2023, Diarra arrives with acclaim and while it’ll take him some time to adjust, already impressive attributes such as his ball control and flair ought to help him settle in smoothly.
He’s still incredibly raw, but watching his highlights from that World Cup, it’s abundantly clear that Barcelona have snapped up a genuine diamond in terms of potential.
Learning to play in a possession-based side should suit his profile, and his passing will no doubt come up to scratch in no time surrounded by pure freaks of nature. The 17-year-old already has the press resistance and the shoulders to send opponents spinning.
As for Traore, the unproven striker can learn invaluable amounts from a crash course at one of the best institutions in the world for youth football.
Crucially, by the time he’s developed and perhaps returned to Barcelona, the club will likely be pondering how they replace an ageing Robert Lewandowski.
There’s a long way to go for the Malian duo, but the sky is the limit for this exceptionally exciting tag team.
By Mitch Wilks