What happens at La Masia stopped making any sense a long time ago. The blaugrana youth academy, an inexhaustible source of young talent, has made Barça fans feel the same excitement for the arrival of a top-level signing as for the presence of a new youth player in the first team in recent years. It's simply spectacular. The more Barça has needed its boys, the more they've answered its call. In times when the club led by Joan Laporta hasn't been able to afford major moves, its youth categories have shown that the work done in grassroots soccer ends up bearing fruit, allowing a team that many considered dead just a few seasons ago to be reborn—and in what a way—on the international soccer scene.
Every preseason is a surprise. Barcelona supporters pay close attention to the market, waiting to see which possible signings will be made to strengthen the squad. But, in the same way, they're also very alert to the youth players who are drafted to train with the first team. It's no wonder. Gavi, Balde, Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal, Fermín, Casadó, Gerard Martín, and Marc Bernal have been responsible for restoring hope to a fanbase emotionally affected and lacking in joy. All of this, moreover, in an extremely difficult period for the club. The best part? The surprises caused by La Masia every year seem to have no end. Season after season, new names are heard who, with extreme youth and talent as their calling card, try to prove to the coach in charge that they deserve to share the locker room with the seniors. That, in times of crisis, is invaluable.
The latest to step into the spotlight is Dro, a 17-year-old boy with a Galician father and a Filipino mother, who last season split his time between the Juvenil B and the all-conquering Juvenil A with Belletti. Initially, he wasn't among the favorites to take part in the tour of Japan and Korea, but he quickly caught the eye of Hansi Flick, who rarely gets his first impressions wrong. The German coach seems to have hit the mark once again. In the first preseason friendly for the blaugrana, Dro needed just 10 minutes to show flashes of quality and a beautifully crafted goal. Good ball control, blistering speed, ease in reaching the opponent's box, and a strong shot from outside the area. As qualities for an introduction, they're not bad at all.
Once again, the premise must be the same as in previous cases: patience with the youngster. The fact that players like Pau Cubarsí or Lamine Yamal are part of Barça's first team at just 18 years old might lead one to think this could become common, but they're two very exceptional cases. The next two matches in Korea and the Joan Gamper Trophy, against Como, will be three fantastic opportunities to keep watching the new gem of the blaugrana youth academy, who can play both as an interior midfielder and as an attacking midfielder, although Flick has also tried him as a winger. The boy doesn't lack qualities or the desire to take on the world. Nor does he lack Barça DNA. Make way for Dro, he's making a strong entrance.