Even in 2023, when football is dominated by oligarchs, betting scandals and refereeing controversies, there’s still room for the odd feel-good story.
Barcelona‘s own squad issues have seen Xavi turn to La Masia on a few occasions since he took over as manager and the latest breakout success came through Marc Guiu, who was only 17 with just eight minutes of reserve team football under his belt when he struck the Blaugrana’s winner against Athletic Club in late October 2023.
It came with just his second touch of the ball, too.
Here’s everything you need to know about football’s latest Cinderella Man.
INCREDIBLE!! 🤩
It’s a fairytale start to life in LaLiga for 17-year-old Marc Guiu who scores 30 seconds into his Barcelona debut! 🔥
He was born in 2006… 👀 pic.twitter.com/1YmZHKTfbT
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 22, 2023
The forward was snapped up by Barcelona from Penya Barcelonista Sant Celoni in 2013, age seven, joining the club’s famed La Masia academy.
Guiu has since graduated through La Masia’s ranks from the under-8s all the way up to Barcelona B, where he recently debuted with an eight-minute cameo against Nastic Tarragona on 10 September.
At international youth level, Guiu has thoroughly impressed. The striker was Spain’s joint top scorer during their run to the 2023 Under-17 Euros semi-finals, bagging four goals alongside Barca teammate Lamine Yamal.
Guiu made his first foray into senior football during Barca’s end-of-season friendly clash with Vissel Kobe back in June, having been named in his first first ever competitive matchday squad with the club earlier that month. He was an unused substitute as Barca lost 2-1 on the final day of the 2022/23 season.
His second squad inclusion came in October and, having been brought on in the 79th minute, Guiu made the most of his first chance in the senior team by becoming the youngest debutant to ever score for Barca, netting only 30 seconds after his introduction.
As described by La Masia coach Ivan Carrasco, Guiu is a not a typical Barca player.
He said: “He’s a specialist in the area, not the typical Barcelona player.
“He doesn’t stand out for his combination play but in the area he has brutal heading ability and he has a power and speed on the run that make him very dangerous when there is space. He has fighting spirit, he never gives a ball up for lost and when it comes to pressing he is an animal.”
Guiu stands at 6’1 and already has a physical presence way beyond what’s typical of a 17-year-old.
Guiu’s main strength, however, is his predatory instinct around the penalty area. As exemplified by his quick run in behind the Athletic Club defence immediately after coming off the bench, the teenager is constantly looking to get into the box and score goals.
His finish also showed a bit of finesse to his game too, coolly slipping the ball under Spain number one Unai Simon to win the match for Barca. Pretty impressive, that.
Being labelled “not a typical Barcelona player” is essentially slang for “not as technically proficient as likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez”.
As a striker, that’s not necessarily a bad thing; he is a goalscorer more than a link-up player by definition.
The fact Guiu is an out-and-out number nine and his lack of real positional flexibility may hinder his chances of getting much regular game time moving forward given Robert Lewandowski – one of the greatest strikers of the modern era – is on the books at Barca and wonderkid striker Vitor Roque is set to join in January.
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