Xavi’s big bet this season has been choosing the young Alejandro Balde and Eric Garcia over club legends Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique.
Even though he backtracked against Bayern Munich, leaving all four players on the bench, it’s clear that Balde and Eric have earned the confidence of their manager, and are the next building blocks to be added to this Barcelona project.
Eric Garcia has some work to do in beating out the likes of Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde, but he’ll be right in the mix from game to game because of his unique abilities in possession, and in opening the field with line breaking passes.