“With Messi, it was enough to look at us.” Jordi Alba (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 1989, 1989) described his connection on the field with the Argentine star in such a graphic way a few months ago.
Two seasons have passed since the Rosario striker, forced by Barcelona’s economic difficulties to sign him up, packed his bags for Paris.
Two seasons in which his usual partner on the left flank has lost prominence in the Barca squad, especially in recent months, as youngster Alejandro Balde seized ownership he had since landing at Camp Nou in the summer of 2012 from Valencia.
Despite this, Alba has taken on his new role with dignity and maturity, even becoming a mentor to his replacement on the left, who has appreciated the captain’s advice in recent months.
And it is precisely Balde’s foray, added to the need for Barcelona to get rid of one of the top chips in the first team, that has accelerated the farewell to the Catalan left-back, who has reached an agreement to renew the contract that gave him to the Barcelona entity until June 2024.
Alba puts an end to eleven seasons in the first team, although his relationship with Barça goes back a long way. He entered La Masia as a child. In fact, in the year 2000, he was one of the young people chosen to lay the foundation stone in the Joan Gamper Sports City.
But after seven years in Barça’s lower divisions, he signed for Cornellà (2006), which years later would lead him to Valencia’s youth A and the subsidiary of the Turia Capital team.
After playing on loan at Nástic de Tarragona, Alba established himself in the Valencian first team from the 2010–11 season, drawing the attention of the club he was formed in, who paid 14 million euros to complete it in the summer of 2012 to recover. .
Since joining Barca’s first team, Alba has almost always been an essential footballer for the seven coaches he has had in the 11 seasons he has spent as a professional at Barca. It wasn’t until Luis Enrique Martínez’s last year on the bench (2016-17) that he lost prominence in the lineups.
The Asturian coach changed the schedule to play with a 3-4-3 and that sent the Catalan footballer on the bench. But with the arrival of Ernesto Valverde, he regained the lead he only lost last season under the management of Xavi Hernández.
This last course has in fact exceeded the number of 450 official matches and has become the ninth footballer to have worn the Barça elastic most often.
Alba leaves Barcelona after 11 seasons, during which she has won 18 titles: 6 leagues, 5 Copas del Rey, 4 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Champions League, 1 Club World Cup and 1 European Super Cup.
But beyond the titles and his leading role in one of the golden stages of Barça and the Spanish team, the winger will be remembered for the football club he founded with Leo Messi.
For nearly a decade, the game of ’10’ to unclog his partner on the left wing and wait for the Argentine to return the ball was one of Barcelona’s most used weapons.
Pass in space, center behind the side and shot by Messi. All rivals knew the game, but few teams knew how to defend it. Alba has provided the Argentine with 23 assists in official matches and will leave the Catalan club with nearly 100 goals conceded.
Big words for a winger who was one of the last survivors of Barça shining in Europe in the second decade of the 21st century.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
