Former Barcelona youth manager highlights 17-year-old defender’s best characteristics after his first team debut

The UEFA Champions League match between FC Barcelona and BSC Young Boys was a memorable one for Iñigo Martínez. He was one of the standout players on the pitch, scoring his first goal in a Blaugrana shirt and providing an assist for Lewandowski’s second goal.

However, he had to leave the pitch in the last phase of the game as he suffered from back discomfort. As he was subbed off, it was another player’s turn to experience another unforgettable night for himself.

This player was Andres Cuenca, who replaced Martinez on the pitch, and thus made his debut with the Barcelona first team. Thus, it was a major milestone for the youngster, and the pleasure of achieving it was even greater as it had come when few people were expecting it.

In this regard, a former youth coach at the Catalan club, Aureli Altimira, spoke to the Spanish outlet SPORT and shared detailed insights about the youngster. He recalled the moment when Barcelona signed Cuenca:

“We received information about a high-level player from Sevilla, and during a tournament in Lloret, he dazzled us, so we decided to sign him.”

“With Jordi Roura, we decided to bring him into Infantil B even though we already had the center-back positions filled and all the residency spots in La Masia were taken. But in the end, we managed to overcome these obstacles.”

“We really liked seeing a center-back with such class, very calm with the ball. We thought about how difficult it is to find left-footed center-backs, and we also appreciated that he looked like he would grow to be very tall.”

The former coach went on to highlight the characteristics of Cuenca as a player:

“Andrés is a specialist who has always played as a center-back, though he has occasionally played as a full-back, but I don’t see him on the wing. Cuenca is a pure center-back, very technically skilled, who easily breaks through lines with his dribbling.”

“He has improved a lot in terms of speed and recovery ability, and he needs to keep working on being more decisive… Training with the first team will help him a lot in gaining that decisiveness because every day you have to face great players.”

“Sometimes Barça’s youth center-backs lack being more challenged, and in this respect, playing with Barça Atlètic or in the first team will help him grow in this aspect of the game.”

With Cuenca, Barcelona have another young defender who can grow to become one of the starters for the first team in the coming years. In this regard, he already has a player to look up to in the form of Pau Cubarsi, but the youngster still has a lot of work to do before he will be able to play regularly for a team as big as FC Barcelona.