Victor Barbera: Could the La Masia teenage talent solve Barcelona’s striker issues?

Barcelona are still in the midst of their complete rebuild. Xavi is finally in charge but despite some obvious improvement on the pitch, the squad is far from complete. Ferran Torres has been secured from Manchester City and if some of the reports are to be believed, the Catalans want more players for the forward line. Names like Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani and, of course, Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland have dominated the media but could Barcelona enlist the aid of La Masia to solve their issues once more?

Victor Barbera is a 17-year-old striker currently playing for Barcelona’s Juvenil A squad. While he may still seem too young to be a permanent first-team addition, the emergence of the likes of Gavi and Nico proves age is not the defining factor. But who is Barbera and would he fit Barcelona’s tactics?

This tactical analysis will aim to answer those questions and give you his full scout report, including strengths and weaknesses.

Player overview

As ever, we’ll start the analysis by giving a short overview of Barbera’s player profile. The young striker is a good physical specimen although his full and detailed information is not available. With a mixture of both strength and speed, the 17-year-old is great at making timed runs and beating defenders in isolated duels for the ball. Being a Barcelona player, Barbera is also good on the ball and can boast impressive technical qualities in regards to control, vision and dribbling.

This not only makes him dangerous in and around the opposition’s penalty area but also means he can influence play from deeper and/or wider areas. Since he’s comfortable moving across the final third and will often drift to the flanks, Barbera can also be deployed on both wings for similarly good impact. Still, it has to be said that the centre-forward role is his preferred role within the squad at the moment. However, that suits the first-team’s tactics and needs even better.

Barbera’s most important trait is probably his movement inside the box and shooting technique. He’s a very good finisher and could perhaps be described as a fox in the box. He utilises the defenders’ blindside really well and combines it with speed and lethality to finish chances. It also helps that he can finish with both his dominant right foot and his weaker left foot. The difference in execution is visible but simply being competent with both feet is impressive.

When it comes to passing and build-up, Barbera is proficient but doesn’t excel at it. He can be and is used in deeper areas to create superiorities and do basic link-up but this remains an area in which he should improve in the near future. Off the ball, the 17-year-old boasts great movement and work rate, both in the defensive and offensive phases of play.

This tactical analysis will now move onto some of the more prominent traits of his player profile.

Positioning & link-up

Being a Barcelona centre-forward comes with certain conditions. Yes, the striker’s main task will always be inside the opposition’s penalty area and this is also something Barbera excels at. However, with the Catalans being a possession-heavy side, their forwards are required to be competent in the build-up phase. In other words, they need to be comfortable dropping deep, creating space through movement and linking up with the midfield to create superiorities. It has to be said that Barbera is not an elite playmaker despite his good vision and technical quality.

Below you can see his pass and action maps, both of which will tell us more about his tendencies on the ball. Immediately, we see that Barbera likes to receive possession and position himself inside the box, which is expected for a striker. However, it’s interesting to note his tendency to drift wide and occupy both half-spaces, especially the left one.

Barbera will aim to move in such a way that multiple channels are opened for the midfield to exploit. His movement can often be used as a decoy so the opposition’s defensive structure gets taken apart or to receive in pockets of space that allow to further advance the attack. This is mostly the case in the left half-space, which also enables Barbera to cut inside towards the penalty area and take shots, either inside or just outside of it. We also see that he tends to drop even deeper on the pitch as well.

This is pretty interesting because link-up, as prominent of a trait as it is for Barcelona forwards and their overall tactics, is something I feel Barbera still has to work on. In fact, the best work he does in the build-up phase doesn’t actually include him touching the ball whatsoever. Let’s look at an example of his off-the-ball movement aiding the build-up play from the deep.

Here, we can see Barbera drop deeper from his usual position in the final third. However, in that particular sequence, he influences play without ever having to touch the ball. Notice that his movement has attracted the attention of two defenders, pulling them towards him. But rather than receiving the ball, as was predicted by the opposition, Barbera charges back to his initial position, dragging the marker away once more and creating space for his teammate to run into. Not only that but the wide defender being dragged inside also created space on the flanks for Barcelona to exploit.

This is a great example of how players need to recognise when to run to receive possession and when their movement can still be beneficial for the team despite not resulting in a received pass. But that is not to say that Barbera never receives possession or links up play when dropping deeper. The following examples will show us that is not the case.

Here, the 17-year-old indeed drops to combine with the midfield and is used as a wall his teammates play off of to switch the direction of the attack. Since the channels towards the flank were properly marked, the only way to advance was to go for a vertical pass towards a descending striker.

Barbera does well to control the ball in tight spaces and lays it off just behind his teammate on the left side. Of course, the pass is not aimed directly at the feet of the other player but that wasn’t possible in this scenario anyway. Sending it just behind him ensured the ball wouldn’t get intercepted in a very dangerous area that could’ve easily resulted in a counter-attack. But it’s also very important to note that Barbera does this often and then immediately charges back into the final third to potentially get on the end of an upcoming cross.

This is a very important trait for multiple reasons. Firstly, it just adds an additional target to look for in the box but even more importantly, given his pace, Barbera can outmanoeuvre the markers he usually drags along into the deeper areas when quickly changing the direction of his movement. So not only does he create space by manipulating markers but he can also exploit it himself.

Here’s another similar example, only this time it includes the youngster carrying the ball upfield.

Again, we see Barbera in a deeper area, aiming to link up with his teammates during a transition. But it’s very interesting to note how he can receive in such an area and then run with the ball forward before deploying a very good pass into the feet of another player. This sequence sadly doesn’t end in a goal for Barcelona but it still showcased Barbera’s skillset quite well.

The final pass was also very good but in general, I wouldn’t say the 17-year-old is elite in this category. Below, you can see two passmaps from games that have given us a big enough sample and they do represent his passing tendencies quite well. Barbera is often used for lay-offs and even though he can both drop deep to combine and deploy good key passes like the one in the previous example, it’s not a very consistent part of his player profile.

His passing repertoire mostly consists of short to medium passes and the sheer volume is not that impressive. This potentially signals Barbera is not as involved in the build-up as he maybe should be given his technical qualities but the fact he’s sharing his game time with Fabián Roberto Luzzi could be a part of the issue. Reduced game time also results in less overall time to get involved in play as Barbera has lately experienced a lack of regular minutes.

However, when passing is combined with his mobility and movement, it can yield great results. Take this next sequence as a very good example. Barbera had previously drifted to the right side, receiving possession from a teammate shortly after. That same teammate then makes a run inside the penalty area and Barbera promptly finds him with a great lofted pass, right into his path.

Sadly, again, the action doesn’t end up in a goal but summarises Barbera’s tendencies well – from the initial movement to get wide, to the vision to see the combination play unfold and then finally to executing a very complicated pass.

Movement around the box & finishing

By far, the most important aspects of Barbera’s kit include his impact in and around the opposition’s box. A striker can have multiple different strengths to his profile but will ultimately be judged by his performance in front of goal. Fortunately for Barcelona, Barbera is a prolific goal-scorer, although one that hasn’t been tested at the highest level just yet. In this section of our tactical analysis, we’ll discuss his movement and finishing.

We’ve already established that movement is a big part of his arsenal so it doesn’t surprise the same is true when he’s moving closer to the opposition’s penalty area. But as is often the case, Barbera will start deeper on the pitch, aiming to advance in a burst of speed. This is another very important trait as it means he’s a willing runner and attacks space when an opportunity arises. The example below can show us more.

Barcelona are advancing up the left flank and Barbera, who’s initially just behind the defender, curves his run to exploit his marker’s blindside and runs straight into the box to meet the cross seconds later. This, unfortunately, doesn’t result in a goal but still shows how through his great movement, he dismarked himself and got into a great position to score. The subtle movement to position himself behind the defender was key to escaping the marking and ultimately getting to the ball first.

This kind of movement is a huge part of his player profile in general. We’ve already discussed how the 17-year-old will often position himself in the half-spaces or deeper and then aim to disrupt the opposition’s defensive structure by manipulating their movement. In our next example, he does exactly that but also receives in the left half-space, allowing him to cut inside and then attempt a shot.

That sequence shows us his tendency to drift wide once more and then, following a great one-turn touch that sends two defenders the wrong way, he creates more space for himself to carry the ball forward. Finally, the shot is attempted just outside of the box, which isn’t an unusual thing for Barbera but it has to be noted that he prefers central attempts from closer range instead. Still, cutting in from the left allows him to go for a more natural strike with his dominant right foot. That’s also why he prefers to drift wide towards the left, more so than towards the right.

Let’s explore a couple more examples of his movement in and around the box that usually result in shots. Exploiting the blindside and running around the defenders seem to be big parts of his arsenal, which you can see in the following example as well. Barcelona are advancing into the box and Barbera recognises how to exploit the space behind the opposition’s defensive line.

Instead of just running away from the ball-carrier, he actually decides to run around the defender and receive just behind his back. His teammate recognises that movement too and deploys an excellent ball into Barbera’s feet. This not only shows how well he attacks space but also the intelligence to recognise how to best exploit it with split-second decisions. Our next example is along the same lines too.

Here, instead of exploiting the blindside, Barbera runs in a zig-zag movement, changing directions rapidly to completely throw the defender off his scent. This ultimately results in the youngster getting to the ball first despite initially being in a suboptimal position behind his marker.

You can see it down below.

Notice how he recognised the pass will go in front of the defender and not beyond him, so he adjusts accordingly. Again, this is a sign of great awareness and movement, which plays a huge role in Barbera’s goal-scoring prowess and how it’ll develop in the years to come. Another very impressive trait he has is the ability to finish with both his stronger right foot and weaker left.

Here’s a good example of that to finish our tactical analysis. Barbera receives the ball just around the edge of the penalty area but quickly realises the way forward is blocked by multiple defenders. Instead of attempting a shot with his right foot through the crowd, he quickly shifts the ball onto his left foot instead.

Impressively, the speed with which he was able to swap feet and the sheer execution were incredible. Barbera hits the left corner of the goal with both power and precision, finishing off a good attacking sequence by Barcelona.

Final remarks

Victor Barbera is far from a finished product but he’s young, talented and has a high ceiling. He may not be able to slot straight into the first team, given his inexperience, but could indeed be an option for the near future. Considering Barcelona are still struggling financially, maybe looking for an in-house option for a long-term role would not be a bad idea at all.

Only time will tell, of course, but Barbera looks like a prospect well worth keeping an eye on.