When will Barcelona’s Olympic gold medal winners return to training?
On Friday night, Spain won the gold medal in the Men’s Football event at the Paris Olympics 2024, with imprints of La Masia all over the triumph.
After all, there was a large contingent of players trained at Barcelona’s famed youth academy present in the La Roja squad that walked away with the gold medal by beating host nation France after extra time.
Three current Barcelona players, all of whom were La Masia trainees, were part of Spain’s successful campaign in Paris – Fermin Lopez, Eric Garcia, and Pau Cubarsi.
Fermin was the undisputed MVP, having scored a record-high six goals for Spain while Garcia and Cubarsi formed a solid defensive partnership, even though they were a bit slow off the blocks.
Eric, Cubarsi to return to training tomorrow, Fermin gets a vacation
Now, Mundo Deportivo has come forward with an update regarding the timelines of the three Barcelona players’ return to training heading into the new season.
After winning the gold medal last night, the defensive pairing of Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi will be joining Barcelona’s training under Hansi Flick as early as tomorrow, i.e., August 11 (Sunday).
This is because both Cubarsi and Garcia had already spent their vacation time prior to joining the Spain camp for the Olympics in Paris.
However, Fermin Lopez will go on a brief holiday, considering that the midfield sensation jumped from national team duty at the Euros to the Olympic games with barely any break.
Will they be available vs Valencia?
Considering that Garcia and Cubarsi will be rejoining training as early as tomorrow, the centre-back duo are likely to be ready in time to face Valencia next weekend in Barcelona’s La Liga opener.
In fact, it is not entirely ruled out that they are called upon in Monday’s Joan Gamper Trophy clash against AS Monaco.
Fermin, though, will certainly miss the Joan Gamper Trophy match while his availability for the game against Valencia will depend on the length of vacation he takes. Either way, the 21-year-old could do with a rest after his involvement in the Euros and Olympics.