Juan Miranda

[raki]

He will be Alba´s backup.

 

[Raketa10]

He will be Alba´s backup.

Great!

 

[Icarium]

Wow. Nice. I think Valverde still wants a LB backup but if Miranda steps up it will set up a good example for la masia kids that they still have a chance.

 

[Joan]

Don't like this.

 

[God Serena]

Hopefully he rotates with Alba more than Digne. Digne was bang average in every sense of the word and Miranda is probably already at a higher level, so I think he should be able to handle that.

I guess in the end, the difference in potential between him and Cucu was too much. I agree with [MENTION=22463]Joan Laporta[/MENTION] in that I don't like it but it's up to Valverde to make this a success and give Miranda the development he's going to miss with Pimienta. I heard rumors he did such a think at Bilbao so maybe there's hope.

 

[Andrew M]

I felt Digne was pretty mediocre so I have no issue with this at all.

 

[Devils]

If he is the so-called successor to Alba, then it shouldn't be an issue at all to have him in the first team and have that experience.

As for Cucu, it's better if the club doesn't waste a young player's time if they aren't going to count on him for the future and he has offers elsewhere.

 

[Joan]

It's not an issue to have him in the first team, I'm confident he can do the job. Probably better than Cucurella. But what I don't like is the posibility of wasting a unique talent only to get a better backup. If Valverde promotes him, it's up to him to make this a success, as [MENTION=20420]God Serena[/MENTION] pointed out. Miranda has to be given opportunites, and that's a huge risk. Not that I don't like seeing youngsters with the first team.

 

[xXKonan]

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Ferran Martinez says that he will be Alba's backup but he will continue with Barca B for the most part and will get called up when needed.

 

[Joan]

Excellent.

Alba will play almost all matches, it seems.

 

[Messi983]

This is much better than promoting him. Playing 25-30 games for Barça B and 10-15 games for the first team would be ideal.

Still sad about Cucu leaving without getting a first team chance though.

 

[xXKonan]

In the article it also explains that Cucurella is considering his offers to leave.

I liked what I seen out of Cucu early on at Barca B especially during the promotion season. But since then he has been disappointing. It's still early him being 20 years old but in terms of pure talent he will probably end up being a Left footed version of Montoya which isn't really a bad thing but Montoya ended up being a unremarkable RB, being decent at defending but just meh going forward.

 

[GroneDanone]

it really depends on how many 1st team games EV is planning to play him if he is promoted this season. if EV plays him for 10 games in La liga and Copa del rey together then I would promote him. If not then play him in Barca B. I think 10 1st team games are more useful than all Barca B games in the third division.

You can have both, and this is what the coaching staff apparently seeks to do, too. Give him regular playing team at Barça B and give him the games in which Alba rests. He wouldn't be needed on the bench during most of the games Alba starts anyway, so why would you rather have him on sitting on the cozy seats at Camp Nou instead of playing for the B team?

I am very happy that we're not buying another back-up but instead rely on our own players. Would have been a terrible sign to not have Cucu or Miranda be the primary back-up for Alba. Yet I can't say I'm too happy with the choice here as I'd have gone with Cucu. Not because he's necessarily more talented but because he's a) more experienced and b) we could have tested both players – Cucu as the primary Alba-BU, Miranda at Barça B. Next year, if Miranda proves to be better you could still have promoted him and let Cucu go.

Now, however, we maneuvered ourselves into a position in which Cucu will most definitely leave the team. Being the older and more experienced player, the promotion of Miranda is a clear sign that the coaches don't see much in him. I would have preferred another year of both at the club to see their development. Only if they really don't trust Cucu I understand that decision – otherwise they should have promoted him even if Miranda is considered more talented overall. It's just not that easy to foresee the development of players at such a young age.

But it's a compromise, I guess. Valverde wants an external replacement at LB (can't fault him for that from a coach's perspective) but our board insists on making use of our youth. That's definitely the right call from our board, this is a prime example of a situation in which we HAVE to give La Masia a chance or else we might just as well shut it down and save the money. It's understandable, though, that the board does not dictate Valverde whom to trust so giving the green light for Miranda is an acceptable compromise even though it's strategically suboptimal imo.

 

[xXKonan]

One of the things I like about him is his height. He's pretty tall for a Fullback, around 6'1.

Assuming how his defensive game pans out he could also slowly be converted into a LCB. Especially when he gets to that age he starts to lose a little bit of his pace and opens the door to another LB. But what I'm describing is like 10-12 years in the future assuming he stays and ends up being our Alba replacement over time.

 

[Raketa10]

Excellent.

Alba will play almost all matches, it seems.

I am also worried about that or even worse Lenglet or Roberto as LB

What does “he will be called when needed” even mean? So he’ll basically only play when Alba is rested and if he gets injured during the game Miranda won’t be there to cover for him since you can’t anticipate that.