‘What surprises me about it is their captain is black too’ – Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde on racial abuse

Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde has said that Spanish football should not be the victim of generalisations due to the racial abuse he received during their recent 1-1 draw with Getafe. Balde was received racist insults from the crowd at the Coliseum, and informed the officials at half-time – the culprits are yet to be located.

Balde was asked about how he was dealing with the situation, but despite his age, showed little sign of being fazed by it.

“It was a difficult situation. I received several insults. I don’t know what to say. Because 3 or 4 people insult you, it shouldn’t be generalized to all of Spanish football. I think I acted well when reporting. Being called black… doesn’t bother me. I’m black and I’m proud of it. What surprises is me is the fact they abuse you when Getafe has a black captain.”

The 21-year-old has received criticism over the past 18 months after an impressive first season in the senior side for Barcelona, but has returned to his best form in recent weeks. He noted that perhaps a little more patience should be afforded to young players.

“My first season was very good, the second was more complicated and I had a 6-month injury. It’s not easy to come back. Not all of us are Pedri or Lamine, who are born with incredible talent. I’m very young and I’m still learning.”

“I’m only 21 years old. In football, people are not used to it. At that age they ask you to be the best in the world. I can improve in attack and defense. But I’m a starter for Barca and that’s not easy.”

Two his teammates going through a tricky period are Ansu Fati, due to injuries and a lack of opportunities, and Inaki Pena, who appears to have lost his place to Wojciech Szczesny in goal in recent weeks.

“[Ansu Fati] is one of my best friends, but he wants to improve and help. He has incredible talent and he will come back.”

“[Pena] looks good to me. I spend a lot of time with Inaki. He is one of the hardest workers on the team, the first to arrive at the gym and the last to leave. He looks good to me.”

It was noted during Barcelona’s training session on Tuesday that manager Hansi Flick had installed a giant screen at the training ground in order to work on tactical adjustments.

“It helps, during training Flick stops to correct actions and plays the video. He has been doing it since the preseason.”

Barcelona face Atalanta at 21:00 CEST on Wednesday night, having already secured their spot in the top eight, and with it passage to the Round of 16. The Blaugrana can still secure first or second spot and seeding for the competition though, while Atalanta sit 7th and are at risk of dropping into the play-off round without a result.