FC Barcelona had an unlikely hero last night, as the 17-year-old Barcelona Atletic forward Marc Guiu scored the only goal to win the match for the Catalans. What made the goal even more special was that Guiu was able to score it only 23 seconds into his first-team debut.
As SPORT has noted, the youngster spoke to the media after the match, in which he talked about opportunities for La Masia youngster, his goal, his happiness for the goal, and thanked Xavi for the chance.
Guiu on La Masia, scoring the goal
Guiu took this opportunity to encourage his La Masia colleagues to always remain optimistic about their chances and not to get discouraged:
“La Masia is working. A great job is being done, and it has to be taken advantage of in difficult times for the club like now. I tell the youth academy players to keep working, that everyone is very eager to get here.”
It was a very special night for the youngster, who struggled with containing his emotions, and confessed this fact in the post-match talk as well:
“I can’t believe it. I’m out of breath. Enjoying the moment. I can’t imagine this, but I’ve been working my whole life to seize opportunities, and it has come to me. Iñigo told me that tonight I won’t be able to sleep, but to enjoy it.”
Unai Simon and Xavi
Guiu also expressed how he experienced the goal on the pitch and was particularly happy for having scored his first goal against a keeper as good as Unai Simon:
“Joao Félix controlled the ball, I saw there was space behind the defense, he passed it to me, and I beat Unai Simón’s attempt to stop it. It’s an honor to have scored a goal against a goalkeeper of his caliber.”
Lastly, Guiu also took his time to thank Xavi, who has not only regularly called him up to train with the first team, but also gave him his debut last night:
“Xavi tells me to work, that opportunities will come. He said I would have a chance, and that’s exactly what happened.”