Vitor Roque, what’s the problem? Arriving this winter at FC Barcelona, the 19-year-old Brazilian prodigy – recruited for more than 30 million euros from Athletico Paranaense – does not play, or very little. Surprising management on the part of Xavi, especially after having pushed to repatriate him as quickly as possible. Sunday evening, on the San Mamés pitch and despite the difficulties displayed by the Blaugranas in the offensive sector, the native of Timóteo once again remained on the substitutes’ bench… While the Culers did not manage to unbalance the Basque bloc, the Catalan technician finally decided to launch Oriol Romeu and Inigo Martinez a quarter of an hour from time. A choice which did not fail to make Barcelona supporters react.
Third in La Liga and relegated eight lengths behind Real Madrid, FC Barcelona – which also lost Frenkie de Jong and Pedri to injury – relies very little on the 1m72 right-hander. Since wearing the Blaugrana jersey, the person concerned has only played 198 minutes. In 9 appearances with the Culers, he has only found the net twice and today finds himself confined to a substitute role. Asked about Auriverde a few minutes after the defeat against Athletic on January 24, Xavi however assured that he wanted to protect his new recruit.
Only 1 tenure since his arrival…
“The other day (against Betis), Vitor came on. Against Athletic, Marc (Guiu) came on. We were looking for more direct football. Vitor will have minutes. We have to be careful, as with all young players. He has the qualities to help us. » A media outing which obviously did not convince many people and which continues to challenge, moreover after having done everything to ensure that the young Brazilian crosses the Atlantic earlier than expected. How can we explain such low use? Why not decide to trust him, Sunday evening, in a meeting where only Lamine Yamal seemed to be able to make a difference?
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So many questions, today, left unanswered and pushing certain observers to point out Xavi’s management. Asked about the possible lack of ambition of his team, Marc-André ter Stegen, for his part, offered a muscular response to the most pessimists. “I don’t like people talking about this subject. No way. It’s hard for me not to answer badly. What this team does not lack is ambition. We felt like we could have done more, but we wanted the three points.”. In the meantime, Barcelona number 19, absent from Dorival’s first list with Brazil, continues to chomp at the bit on the sidelines…
