Six weeks of Barça's Oscar Mingueza: from novice to taking control
The defender has made his mark since injuries allowed him a chance in Koeman's side
On Nov. 24, Ronald Koeman was obliged to turn to the B team on Nov. 24 when Barcelona were left short in defence for their Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev.
Oscar Mingueza, who has been at Barça since 2007, seized his chance and the 21-year-old has been around the first team ever since.
The injuries to Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo left Koeman no chance but to turn to Mingueza after trying and failing to sign another centre-back last summer -- who know what would have happened if someone did come in?
In any case, Mingueza's debut was a dream, a 4-0 win and he played well. Even still, no one could imagine that six weeks later he would now have played 11 official games for the club, a total of 704 minutes wearing the Barça shirt.
Mingueza has not stopped evolving and improving, day after day, training session after training session. So much so that Koeman has complete faith in him.
The Dutch coach, one of the best defenders in the world as a player, has been key to the process. Against Granada at the weekend, we saw the most in control Mingueza yet.
He was giving orders, well-positioned and playing well. He's adapted to to the new role that has been offered to him.
But he won't stop here. Mingueza wants to keep growing. He's not stopped doing so since he joined the club almost 15 years ago and he's not going to stop now.
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