Skip to main content

Barcelona B's 2015 transfer ban (2nd September, 2017)

Barcelona may have had a transfer ban in 2015, but that didn't stop them from making new signings. But it wasn't just the first team, it was every youth team too - and Barcelona B was no exception.

Barcelona B’s new recruits included attacking midfielder Xemi, who had stepped onto the pitch of his club’s stadium, the Camp Nou, and has defeated Barcelona and Valencia. They also brought in Dani Romera, a striker who has played Córdoba in the league twice in the space of five weeks and won 2-1 both times. Finally, they have signed Jokin Ezkieta, a goalkeeper who has played for the Spain U-19 team but hadn't played a single professional match in Spanish football. Ever.

Xemi was currently playing for UE Cornellà, a team that plays in the 1,500-seater Nou Camp Municipal. Their first game of the 2015-16 season was at home against Barcelona B, which they won 2-1. And nearly a month later, again at home, Cornellà defeated Valencia Mestalla 3-2.

20-year-old Xemi is highly energetic and is known for his hard work and defensive nature. He started all 18 league matches in the first half of the 2015-16 season and already accumulated five yellow cards. And he has an eye for goal too - in the 2015 calendar year he had scored five times - and hopefully when he joined Barcelona B in January he would score some more.

Dani Romera, a 20-year-old striker, actually joined Barcelona B to train - hence, he couldn't play until January. The season before, he played for UD Almería B but was called up several times to the first team. Therefore, he played against Córdoba in the first team, and then just over a month later played with his B team against their B team.

Romera is a quick striker who is known for his ability to evade defenders with speed and agility. The previous season he scored 15 goals in 31 league games.

Like Romera, Jokin Ezkieta was signed over the summer. The 19-year-old goalkeeper actually played for the Spain U-19 team, and was the third goalkeeper last year for CA Osasuna, but had only played for amateur, fourth-tier Osasuna B.

He might be the most promising signing of all. While comparisons to De Gea and Courtois by Sport and Mundo Deportivo respectively are premature and ridiculous, what we do know is that he is 6’6" tall, quick and has sharp reflexes. Osasuna saw that he had the talent - and lost their next big star due to contractual disputes. Unfortunately for them, Barcelona B saw the potential in him too.

So how have the signings worked out?

Jokin Ezkieta actually spent the 2016-17 season on loan to Sabadell, but he is finally a professional, playing for Barcelona B in the Segunda. Xemi signed for Oxford United this summer, failing to break into Barcelona B's starting eleven. And Dani Romera, despite scoring 6 goals in 12 games in the 2015-16 season, and another 15 goals in the 2016-17 season, was sold to Cádiz for a measly 350,000 euros.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ismael Urzaiz and Salamanca. A 22 team La Liga. Trust and Víctor Casadesús (9th June, 2017)

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo...

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave...

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb...