The first test for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona side brought a lot of names to the fore — none more so than Marc Casado and Marc Bernal.
In a 2-2 friendly draw with Manchester City in Orlando, Florida (Barca won a resulting penalty shootout), La Masia academy graduates Casado and Bernal made fans ask themselves if the club really do need to sign a new holding midfielder.
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The relentless search for a replacement for Sergio Busquets — someone who could dictate play as a deep-lying midfielder — was a constant sticking point for Xavi after he returned as coach. Nobody has been able to replicate the Busquets’ influence since he left for Inter Miami last year after making 722 appearances for Barca over 15 seasons.
The campaign before Busquets’ exit, Xavi tested several players in that role, knowing his former team-mate would not be around forever. He tried Frenkie de Jong and centre-back Eric Garcia, but neither worked. In the end, he paired Busquets with De Jong in a double pivot that gave the team stability and helped them win their first La Liga title for four years.
Barca have failed to adequately replace Busquets (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The process began again when Busquets joined Lionel Messi in Miami. Oriol Romeu, a La Masia-formed midfielder, was signed from Girona. Even though Xavi missed out on his preferred target, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, Romeu’s pre-season performances led Barca fans to believe they had found an adequate Busquets stand-in.
Romeu started well and showed good chemistry with De Jong in a double pivot at the base of midfield — but when the Dutchman was injured at the end of September, Romeu declined, his confidence dropped and he was no longer the same player who had looked assured in those warm-up games.
The search began again this summer without Xavi, who was sacked in May. The former Barcelona midfielder had been the main advocate for signing someone in that position — without Xavi, signing a left-winger became the new priority.
While the club say they are still looking for a holding midfielder, they have been pushing more strongly to sign Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams and RB Leipzig’s attacking midfielder Dani Olmo than Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino, who is closer in profile to Busquets.
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Once again, La Masia may answer their prayers.
Barca’s youth academy has long been a source of success for the club, particularly as they have struggled with €1billion ($1bn; £843m) debts in recent years. Flick has been impressed by the youngsters he has encountered since being appointed this summer and club sources — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say Casado has left a big mark on the German.
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Last season, the 20-year-old defensive midfielder captained Barcelona Atletic — the club’s second team full of youth players — under Mexico legend Rafa Marquez. He also filled in at full-back and attacking midfield when defender Hector Fort was promoted to the first team.
In June, Casado agreed to renew his Barca deal until 2028 and was told he would be part of Flick’s first-team plans. Club sources say he has great vision, reads the game well and loves to talk about tactics.
When he made his senior debut under Xavi in November 2022, he was especially excited as the Barca legend had been his idol when he was a child. He is a passionate Barcelona fan who joined the academy from Catalan team Damm in 2016 but he has not rushed his way to the top.
Casado, pictured, started alongside Bernal last night (Eston Parker/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
He is enthusiastic about his chances under Flick this season — but he is not the only midfielder called Marc making waves from the youth ranks.
Senior academy sources see Bernal as another player with big potential. He is 17 but already imposing at 6ft 3in (191cm) and can play in a holding role or closer to the box. He has been at La Masia for 10 years.
Barca see him as a similar player to Busquets or Rodri, the Manchester City and Spain midfielder. He can quickly make the team change pace and, although he is developing physically, club sources say he has improved a lot in aerial play and will have a strong physique when he finishes growing.
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Casado may have more of a chance of making an immediate impact given he spent time with the first team last season, but Bernal has a bright future. Sources close to the player told The Athletic he has had offers from clubs in England, Germany and elsewhere in La Liga. While he could earn more at other clubs, he wants to make it to the Barca first team and establish himself there.
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So Barca fans were particularly excited to see the pair start the team’s first pre-season friendly against City. Flick chose to use them in a double pivot against Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions — which was significant given Romeu, who is more experienced, had been training with the new coach from day one.
The two dovetailed well. At times, Bernal was further back in midfield and at others Casado, allowing either player to get forward. Casado produced a clever flick in the build-up to Pau Victor’s opening goal in the 24th minute and there were encouraging signs for a team full of youth players.
Testing those players made in La Masia will be a key part of Barca’s pre-season. For now, it is unclear whether Casado will start alongside De Jong in a holding midfield two when the Dutchman is back from injury, or whether this will be the season Bernal makes his first-team debut.
At the very least, he and Casado showed they were up for the challenge of finally helping them move on from Busquets.
(Top photo, from left to right: Marc Casado, Marc Bernal; by Getty Images)
