Barcelona remain a European powerhouse, both at the highest level as well as in the lower tiers. The club retains its pedigree as one of the elites of the Old Continent, but it continues to focus elsewhere as well. The youth program within the club, for example, remains a high priority for Barça.
As such, Barcelona Atletic currently fights in the third division of Spanish Football. Not exactly where they want to be, Rafa Marquez and his players continue to work towards their goals. Hoping to soon return to the Segunda Division, Marquez hopes to be able to count upon his best players.
Fodder for the first team
Despite this, the first team continues to call upon the Barça Atletic players to provide depth. Starlets like Pau Cubarsi, Marc Guiu, Pau Victor, and Astralaga have all previously been called upon by Xavi even though they could provide a great boost to Rafa Marquez’s Barça Atletic.
However, the worst infliction upon the subsidiary side comes when these players do not even end up playing. Once entered into the squad list for the team under Xavi, they become ineligible to feature for Marquez’s team for the time being. Simply sitting on the bench, they offer no particular value to Xavi at that moment.
The Case of Casado
On the other hand, they could be providing much more value to Rafa Marquez. As a result, according to Mundo Deportivo, the Barça Atletic coach has made a pact with Xavi. Until and unless the Spanish coach guarantees to give them minutes, he will not needlessly call subsidiary players to the first team. In particular, Marc Casado is a name that was brought up by the Barcelona subsidiary coach reportedly.
Important for Marquez
Previously talking about the 20-year-old pivot, Marquez was full of praise. Considering him a fundamental part of his Atletic side, he believes the team is completely different without him:
“There’s a different Barça Atlètic when he plays and another one when he’s not on the field.”
As a result, Xavi has now limited the subsidiary players he calls upon. Casado previously featured in the squad for the first five La Liga games and even two Champions League games.
However, he ended up playing a total of zero minutes across all those matches. This has caused problems for Marquez, whose Barça Atletic has suffered in the meantime. It now seems that Xavi will stick to his pact, as he has already begun to limit the number of players in his final squad lists.
