Alejandro Balde has been a top talent in La Masia since he arrived in 2011 and now it seems like Ronald Koeman could trust the 17-year-old to fill a role with the first team. If Junior Firpo is loaned out or sold in January, Balde has been tipped as his replacement in the squad.
Balde was born in Barcelona on March 18, 2003 to a Guinea-Bissauan father and Dominican mother. He started playing at the age of four as a forward, first playing for F.C. Sant Martí Conda, then CE Sant Gabriel, one season at Espanyol, and finally arriving at Barcelona. Two things have stuck out in his nine years in La Masia: his talent and injuries.
Three seasons ago he suffered a serious injury to his tibia that forced him out of action for a few months, but he came back as good as ever. His physical tools are still coming along, but he’s always been one of the best athletes at any age. Strong enough to help centre-backs but quick enough to deal with speedy wingers. What’s special about Balde is his attacking prowess, with a cross that is developed beyond its years and an understanding of the game that is only taught at La Masia.
Balde’s last few seasons have seen him play with multiple academy teams as promotions came each spring. His final year in the Cadet A saw him push his way into Juvenil B by February, and that was prior to his 16th birthday. In the year since, he has played with Juvenil B and then Juvenil A. His only four UEFA Youth League appearances came last year, where he contributed one assist.
This season was originally going to be Balde’s full season with Juvenil A, but it became apparent fairly early in Barcelona B’s preseason that he would be featuring more regularly for them. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle ligament injury in the final match of the preseason, which will keep him out until at least the end of November.
A promotion for Balde would mean that Junior Firpo is no longer at Barcelona, thus ending a disappointing 18 months for the former Real Betis man. The 24-year-old has never found consistent minutes, playing just 29 total minutes in two Champions League substitute appearances.
The players that seem to struggle the most at FC Barcelona are those that tend to be at their best with a consistent run of form. Gerard Deulofeu is one that comes to mind. When Junior was at his best with Real Betis in 2018-19, he started nine of ten La Liga matches, then scored three goals with one assist in his next four matches. This also came as a left midfielder/left wing-back.
At Barcelona, he’s played for a few moments as a left winger, but usually he’s subbing in as the left-back. So if the requirements for Junior Firpo to succeed is a different position and consistent playing time, it’s not hard to understand why it hasn’t worked out. That said, I do have some faith that a change of scenery where he can once again get on the field would remind us of the player that is in there.
As for Balde, I’m not entirely sold on the idea of having him with the first team. For a player that hasn’t played yet this year, trying to come back from an injury and jumping straight into the fire is a daunting task. Remember, Ansu Fati was scoring at a torrid pace with Juvenil A the season before Valverde gave him his debut. Even though he never officially played for Barcelona B, he was their leading scorer in preseason before getting the step up to the first team.
My concern is that promoting him to the top level and using him as Jordi Alba’s back-up means that he’ll be sitting on the bench for 20 matches and not getting any minutes. He’s so young that he’s only even trained with the first team a few times, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have him regularly training with Messi and company. But he’s 17 years old. He needs to be on the field and playing.
If Ronald Koeman wants to call him up, it should be to start in Alba’s place. If not, Samuel Umtiti may still be hanging around or I’d be more creative and try out Carles Aleñá at that position. More likely, if Alba were to go down midway through a match, I’d expect Koeman to go with three at the back, trusting Ronald Araujo or de Jong instead of the 17-year-old.
It would be exciting to see Balde get his shot with the first team. Left-back is arguably the position with the least quality in world football, so a top level player at that position is one to be cherished. Balde could be that player in a few years and it would be wise not to screw that up.
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017.
