Who is Xavi’s new bet, Gerard Gonzalez?
The young left back was used in training on Monday
Gerard González was one of the main news items in Barça's training session this morning after the win against Valencia. The Juvenil A left-back is Xavi Hernandez's new youth academy bet.
Born in La Cellera de Ter (Girona) on 17 February 2004, Gerard González has just turned 19 and plays left-back in the Juvenil A team. He took his first steps at his hometown club, CF Cellera, where he stood out especially in the youth team.
His performance catapulted him to Girona, where he spent just one year before joining Barça, at Alevin level. His best season at Barça was in his last year as a cadet, when he was called up to the Spanish U16 team. He had offers from Everton but ended up staying.
Although in the early part of the season he was the regular left-back in the Juvenil A team, he has now moved into the background and has not been getting much playing time lately. In the Youth League, he has only had minutes in two of the seven games played, both against Bayern Munich where he started the first leg and the second leg.
In last Saturday's defeat, Gerard came on in the 71st minute in place of Xavi Moreno, a winger converted to full-back who has now started four consecutive league games. Gerard González has not started since the match against Sabadell on matchday 19, on 4 February, a month ago.
