Barça are a team in need of a centre-back. In their search for an ideal partner for Gerard Piqué, the club’s directors would do no harm at all by having a look at the club’s academy. A certain boy named Marc Cucurella seems to be a beast in the making.


Marc Cucurella (born 22 July 1998 in Alella) is a classy 15-year-old defender with a great future. He signed for FC Barcelona from city neighbours Espanyol in the summer of 2012, having been the object of many scouting missions carried out by Guillermo Amor and Albert Puig, with the two directors of the academy watching the youngster for several matchdays.

‘Cucu’, a name by which his Cadete A teammates and close friends call him, is a sensitive, natural and rather timid off the pitch. Yet when he steps onto the pitch, he is a different person. He gives his all for the team and hates losing. Once the match starts, he has only one thing in his mind: winning.

His style and attitude on the pitch bring Carles Puyol to mind. Even when he travels, he wears Tarzan’s number 5 jersey, but his real idol is Chelsea’s eccentric Brazilian David Luiz.

‘Cucu’ had a very clear goal of becoming a footballer since he was a kid. He started playing futsal for his local club Alella, until a friend of his father, who had watched him in action, encouraged him to go for a trial at RCD Espanyol. Marc passed the trial, and spent six seasons with the blanqiazules before signing for Barça. For him, Barça is the place where he wants to triumph. He is well equpied to do so. Out of his technical attributes, two are the most conspicuous: reliability and competitiveness. He attacks often and defends very well. Isn’t that what we expect from defenders? Moreover, he’s fast, aggressive, and always plays to the limit.

In his first season with Barça, he won the league title. This season he and his teammates are well on course to match last year’s exploits, having only drawn twice in the league. Cucurella took some time to adapt to the blaugrana style, having played a wholly different game for six years; however he now seems more comfortable day by day. He gets on very well with everyone, both in and out of the dressing room, and especially with winger Carles Péez and centre-back Carles Torrents, who had been with him at Espanyol.

His best moment so far has been his summer call-up to Spain’s U-16 side, coached by Albert Celades, for two friendlies against Switzerland. ‘Cucu’ knows that it’s a privilege, and is going to ‘bite’ in order to succeed. Remember: he hates losing.

Source: Mundo Deportivo / Image: Pep Morata – MD