Former coach reveals how Barcelona signed their future defensive mainstay: ‘Lamine had to fight him...’

Barcelona’s pipeline of home-grown defensive talent has a new poster-boy in Pau Cubarsi, yet the story of how the 16-year-old centre-back arrived at La Masia reads more like a scouting thriller than routine academy business. Dani Horcas, who spent eight years coaching Barça’s seven-a-side youth sides, has lifted the lid on the covert operation that snatched Cubarsi from neighbours Girona after a bruising youth tournament in the Basque Country.

The setting was the annual Azpeitia Tournament, where Barcelona’s Alevín C squad expected routine tests against regional sides. Instead, Horcas found himself fixated on a tall, composed defender wearing Girona colours. “We had already been following him, as you always have to keep an eye on players from Cornellà, Damm, Girona and many other Catalan clubs,” Horcas told SPORT. “The truth is that Cubarsi stood out in the tournament, playing at an incredible level.”

What happened next has since become folklore inside the Ciutat Esportiva. Drawn against Girona, Barcelona’s forwards—led by current first-team revelation Lamine Yamal—were met by a centre-back who refused to take a backward step. “Lamine had to fight Cubarsi on the pitch,” Horcas recalled. “Sparks flew between the two. It was a very difficult match for us and we only managed to win on penalties.”

Barcelona eventually lifted the trophy, but Horcas left the Basque Country convinced the toughest opponent they had faced was the Girona back line anchored by Cubarsi. “He was an incredible centre-back. I noticed how calm he was and how he brought the ball out. He didn’t kick the ball around. He reminded us of Eric, who had also coached him when he was Marc Serra’s assistant coach for the Alevín A team.”

Within days of returning to Catalonia, Horcas filed an urgent report to Barcelona’s youth coordinators. The club moved swiftly, securing Cubarsi for the Alevín A squad ahead of the 2018-19 season. Horcas did not coach the defender directly after the transfer, but he monitored his assimilation into Barcelona’s possession-heavy model. “I think he’s the player I’ve seen who has had the easiest time adapting to Barça’s style. You could see him playing the possession game that is fundamental for us, and it was as if he had been doing it for four or five years.”

From a single youth tournament clash with Yamal to the cusp of senior football, Cubarsi’s rapid rise underscores why Barcelona’s scouting network keeps a permanent eye on every corner of Catalonia—and why Horcas still remembers the day Lamine had to fight him.