25 October 2023 , 05:00
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Ask 100 people in a room to picture a product of Barcelona's fabled La Masia academy, the chances are all will envisage the exact same thing.
Small, technically excellent, can pick a pass and keep the ball for fun. The new Xavi. The new Andres Iniesta. The new Gavi.
It is the prototype of what the Spanish champions have spent the past 20 years producing. Such players, honed in tiki-taka, are now found flung across all corners of the footballing globe, whether across Europe, in America, Saudi Arabia, Japan or Australia.
What they don’t do at La Masia is bring through big, hulking No.9s. Until now.
Marc Guiu is far from your typical Barcelona breakthrough star, but the 6ft 1in striker made himself a cult hero at the weekend, scoring just 23 seconds into his senior debut with the weekend winner against Athletic Bilbao.
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Born less than an hour from Camp Nou, his first act after being thrust into senior action was to dash behind an opposing defence, timing his run perfectly and latching onto Joao Felix’s pass, taking one touch to settle himself and a second to coolly finish past Spain’s No.1, Unai Simon.
As far as introductions go, it could hardly have been any better. No one in the club’s history has scored their first goal quicker.
“There was no fear in his face,” said Barca boss Xavi. “I told him he would get one chance. He gets one chance and he took it. I felt he was ready. I am really happy for Marc, he is a good kid who works hard."
In the stands, Guiu’s delighted parents were left in tears. Barca’s missing marksman, Robert Lewandowski, couldn’t hide his delight. Among the on-field celebrations after the final whistle, Joao Cancelo joked: “You have to buy us a dinner now. You have to buy us a dinner in McDonald’s.”
"I think I've been dreaming about this almost every night," said Guiu. "It's a great feeling and I'm very happy."
Marc Guiu coolly converts past Unai Simon to give Barca the lead (Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)
Marc Guiu celebrates his winner (Getty Images)Guiu, just 17, has been with the club since the age of seven, usually plays for the club's Under-18s and in the summer top-scored for Spain’s Under-17s in the European Championships, notching four times in as many matches. However, he has less than 10 minutes action under his belt for the club’s B team since then, a decision taken because Xavi and his coaching staff have seen things in Guiu they simply really like: His aggression, his willingness to run behind defences and, as Sunday showed, his finishing.
Still too young to have a driving licence, he has been training with club’s senior stars since the summer, watching and learning, looking to smooth his rough edges. Comparisons to Erling Haaland and Man Utd’s £72m new boy Rasmus Hojlund have been made and club chiefs hope that, amid ongoing financial issues, Guiu can give them the centre-forward option they simply don't have, Lewandowski apart.
When they take on a Jude Bellingham-inspired Real Madrid in El Clasico this weekend, it's unlikely that he'll start.
But if Guiu can deal with growing expectations and the pressure that will follow his opening exploits, Barcelona may have just unearthed themselves the most unlikely of diamonds.