Barcelona When Anderson Deco landed at Barça’s sports offices to replace Mateu Alemany, he found himself signing Iñigo Martínez. The Basque defender, who had not renewed with Athletic, was a bet by the Balearic executive that Xavi Hernández blessed for his experience in the League (357 games) and because he covered the specific need to have a left central. The newcomer to the sports management had more doubts, raising his eyebrows at the imminence of an acquisition that the club had already had in 2017 and that he had also explored last summer. “We need a right-back in good condition, not more centre-backs”, said Deco internally, who had to accept a contract that had been committed for months.
Coincidence or not, Iñigo, who had been Barça’s first confirmed signing for the 2023-24 financial year, saw his card be the last one the club registered in the League in a night of rushes and pizzas at the Joan Gamper Sports City. While in the offices they hurried to square the salary limit with the departures, the guarantees of Laporta and Olivé and the promissory notes of the relever, the one from Ondarroa made crosses at home. In full agony, he even imagined himself looking for a team immediately so as not to end up with a nosebleed, but he breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed that Eric Garcia was leaving for Girona. That move confirmed that Barça could not lose any more troops in defence. However, the anxiety did not completely disappear until he saw his avatar on the League’s website, where before him the two cubs of Jorge Mendes that the entity incorporated on the horn on Friday: Joao Félix and Cancelo, which were presented this Saturday.
Too many months in the shadows
For a Barça in crisis that skids to the limit to fulfill the fair play financial, that Iñigo was injured lessened the urgency to register him. Indeed, the ex-Athletic player has had problems with the fascia of the sole of his right foot since the beginning of this year, an injury resulting from wear and tear that the Blaugrana medical services have treated with care since the player put himself under Xavi’s orders. One of the decisions made to minimize the pain was a small operation on the twin to reduce the tension in the affected area.
Now, after many weeks of specific treatment (also on a North American tour that he didn’t want to miss in order to get to know his new teammates better), Martínez has finally received his medical discharge and is very eager to silence those who from outside they criticize his signing and even compare it to that of Thomas Vermaelen, that Belgian center who was more in the news because of the blows he went to the infirmary than because of the “immediate performance” that was expected of him. But he also wants to silence the internal misgivings of those who would have preferred not to bring him in and plan the squad differently.
Iñigo is part of the list of players that Xavi provided for the always complicated trip to Osasuna, where Robert Lewandowski was sent off by Gil Manzano. Cancelo and Joao Félix, who could also play their first minutes at Barça, and Raphinha Dias, who returns after serving a two-match suspension for the expulsion he saw in Getafe, are also on the available list. It remains to be seen if the Brazilian winger will replace Lamine Yamal, who last Sunday gave a recital in Vila-real and will make his international debut in the coming weeks. The injured Araujo and Pedri are out for the game in Pamplona. Christensen is touched and this may see De Jong occupy the central position. For his part, Ferran Torres could start for the first time this season.
2023-09-02 20:29:18
#keys #double #agony #happy
