In a surprising turn of events, Barcelona’s starting lineup in their Champions League match against Porto featured no La Masia graduates in the outfield positions, marking the first occurrence since 2002.
Goalkeeper Inaki Pena, who hails from Alicante rather than Catalonia, was the sole representative of Barcelona’s famed academy on the field.
The rest of the team comprised players from outside the region, a departure from Barcelona’s long-standing tradition of integrating homegrown talents into the first team. The last time Barcelona played a match without any Catalans in the team was back in 2002.
The lineup against Porto included Araujo, Kounde, Martinez (a Basque player), Gundogan, De Jong, Pedri, Rafinha, Felix, and Lewandowski, alongside Pena in goal.
Several La Masia graduates were on the bench for the match, including Sergi Roberto, Oriol Romeu, Lamine Jamal, Balde, and Fermin. However, none of them featured in the starting eleven, highlighting a notable shift in Barcelona’s approach to team composition.
