Barcelona B defeated Espanyol B in the Derbi Barceloní (the B team version) away from home to jump up to second in the table, level on points with first place Gimnástic. Four straight wins are evidence of a team peaking at the right time as the third division nears the promotion play-offs. Yet, the winning is hardly the most impressive thing that Francisco Pimienta is doing down in the Segunda División B at the moment.
Injuries have ravaged Barça B this season. Even today’s 1-0 victory was soured by an ankle injury to Álvaro Sanz, the midfielder turned right-back who was coming off an injury scare last week. It would be unfortunate if he joined the eight other players out for an indiscernible amount of time (Gomes, Balde, Solano, Rosanas, Sarsanedas, de Vega, Abe, Mortimer). Of that group, only Lucas de Vega is expected back within the next few weeks.
Add to that Jandro Orellana still regaining fitness, Ilaix Moriba being unofficially promoted to the first team, and both Rey Manaj and Matheus Pereira missing through yellow card suspension, and Pimienta would have found it easier to make a team of players not available than those available.
Yet, as he has done all year, his team keeps getting younger but the results keep coming. Gerard ‘Peque’ Fernández, who has bounced between the B team and Juvenil A both this season and last, was brought in for Manaj. Nico González has been playing in the pivot since Orellana went down a few weeks ago, so Pimienta entrusted 16-year-old Gavi with his first start in the third division, having just made his debut this month. Gustavo Maia has been in and out of the line-up, but he also got the start. Meanwhile, four other Juvenil A players were on the bench.
Perhaps the greatest compliment to Pimienta this season is not only the way that he has continued to win matches with a ton of injuries, but he’s still checking all the boxes when it comes to preparing youngsters for the first team. Óscar Mingueza and Ilaix Moriba would not be having the roles they have with Ronald Koeman if not for the preparation they’ve done with Barcelona B. The same is apparent for when Álex Collado, Alejandro Balde, Jandro Orellana, Nico González, or any other player with “first team potential” inevitably breaks in.
The one goal scored against Espanyol B was a firm display of the conveyor belt that Pimienta has his talents operating on. Gavi, whose sensational touch and dribbling abilities helped him not look out of place, fed a through ball in just enough space for Collado to stay on-side and get around his defender. Collado had to regain his balance and skip past the tackle, plus deliver an accurate cross. The best player in the third division this year did exactly that and Peque finished with one touch with his best goal for Barça B. Oddly enough, Peque’s only other goal in Segunda Divisón B this season came against Espanyol back in December.
Pimienta’s choice to start Gavi instead of Oriol Busquets and thus moving Nico González forward is a testament to the manager’s willingness to do what the team needs instead of doing what is most comfortable. Of course it would have been easier to start the player who spent last season starting for a side in the Eredivisie and a team captain, but instead Pimienta went with the player that wasn’t guaranteed to provide what he needed. Gavi did give the ball away a few times in his own half, but clearly the instructions were for the 16-year-old from Andalusia to dribble at the opposition as much as possible and express himself with his passing. He did both of those to good effect and he is a big reason why his side were on the front foot for most of the match.
As Konrad de la Fuente and Collado closed out the match with possession near the corner flags, Pimienta wasn’t afraid to give Ángel Alarcón, another 16-year-old, his Barcelona B debut. The manager seems to perfectly understand the balance of getting these players ready for the first team and how to win a match in the third division. Even if he fails to gain promotion, the dividends being paid at the first team level are proof that this may be the most “successful” Barcelona B season we’ve seen in some time.
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
