FC Barcelona consider its youngsters to be their pathway to the future and a gateway to success in the years up ahead. Their development, across various aspects of their game, is thus crucial and must be treated as an important process within the walls of the Catalan club.
Certain stars such as Gavi and Lamine Yamal managed to integrate themselves rather quickly within the Barcelona first team and have settled since as key members. Others in the subsidiary, however, will naturally take more time to properly adjust to the higher echelons of European football.
Barca’s German prodigy
Such is the case for 17-year-old German midfield talent, Noah Darvich. The recent recruit for FC Barcelona from Freiburg has a huge potential to eclipse in the future and has been brought in as an impact signing for the subsidiary team for now.
However, according to Spanish outlet SPORT, the player is still adapting to life in Spain given that it is his first time away from Germany playing football at such a high level. As a result, Barcelona and their coaches at various levels are determined to give the youngster the required time and space to ease into Spanish football and the ways of Barcelona.
Lacks the right experience
In his latest outing for Barcelona Atletic against Real Zaragoza, he remained on the bench as an unused substitute. For Rafa Marquez, his development will be gradual and so will his appearances for Barca Atletic.
Moreover, Youth coach Oscar Lopez is also among those who see his potential but believe he needs more experience to improve following his progress within the reserve team:
“He is a young player with a lot of potential. I believe he had a great game. He managed to read certain game situations with judgment. It’s true that he’s not yet fully integrated into our team dynamics, and there are some teammates he doesn’t know as well, so it’s normal for players to have some integration issues. However, I think he had a very complete performance.“
The coach did however acknowledge that the 16-year-old German midfielder seems to be ‘frustrated’ at certain points and it will take an adequate amount of trust from the coaches to see him thrive at his best:
“He needs to experience moments of frustration and demonstrate the ability to overcome them. Coaches give him this trust so that he can try.”
Barcelona bets on him
Having arrived this summer from the Bundesliga in a deal worth €2.5 million alongside other add-ons, expectations were undoubtedly high. Given that he is also among the shining stars of Germany, having led them to the Under-17 European championship, he is also expected to be within the squad that represents Germany for the Under-17 FIFA World Cup in November.
For now, the coaches will all give him the confidence and the right amount of time to improve and settle. He undoubtedly has a special potential for great things, as seen by the fact that even Xavi Hernandez called him up to train with the first team, but his progression must be taken one step at a time.
