Spain’s backline bulwark Pau Cubarsi will make life tough for Belgium
All eyes were on the curly-haired wunderkind Lamine Yamal during a training session at La Masia. But the eyes of Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez wandered to a lean, tall figure with boyish looks. He summoned a youth coach by his side and told him he wanted the boy to train with the senior team the next week. On the day of training, when Xavi entered the training ground, he was there with a warm smile and introduced himself in a firm tone: “Hi, I am Pau Cubarsi.” Xavi was impressed. “He had none of the shyness you think of when a teenager called for his first training with the senior team,” the manager recalled to Spanish outlet MARCA. In months, along with the wunderkind Xavi had visited the academy to check out, Cubarsi became a regular in the senior team. After his debut, a Copa del Rey game against Unionistas de Salamanca, Xavi told the media: “With Lamine Yamal, he would mark an era.” He was only 16 then, but in Xavi’s assessment, he was …
