'Ridiculously good' - Man Utd legend Hargreaves hails 17yo Barcelona CB Cubarsí for caging Osimhen
Published: March 13, 2024
Manchester United legend Owen Hargreaves waxed lyrical about Barcelona's new kid on the block Pau Cubarsí for his outstanding performance in the Champions League clash between the Spanish giants and Napoli on Tuesday night.
Aged 17 years and 50 days yesterday, Cubarsí became the youngest player in history to debut in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, breaking the record previously held by cap-tied Austria international of Nigerian descent David Alaba.
In the opening minute of the game, Napoli's dangerman Victor Osimhen managed to break through the Barcelona defense, but Cubarsí thwarted a potential goalscoring opportunity with a tackle.
Despite the likes of Robert Lewandowski, João Cancelo, Andreas Christensen, İlkay Gündoğan and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on parade at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Hargreaves reckons Cubarsí was the most outstanding player on the pitch and praised the teenager for going toe-to-toe with one of the most feared strikers in Europe, Osimhen.
Cubarsí's display against Napoli has seen him draw comparisons to legendary Barcelona central defender Ronald Koeman.
Cubarsí was picked as Player of the Match by UEFA's Technical Observer Panel for his brilliant and brave performance..
Speaking as a pundit for TNT Sports, Hargreaves said: "He was the star of the show. This kid was picking out passes for fun, he made it look so easy. He was physical when he needed to be, for a Spanish centre-back to be as physical against somebody like Osimhen is quite rare.
"His awareness, everything, he's 17 in his first start. He played ridiculously good. That's a star now and a star of the future."
Cubarsí had eleven games under his belt for Barcelona's first team prior to the Champions League round of 16 second leg clash against Napoli.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
Photo Credit: fcbarcelona.com
Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com
- Not business as usual: Eric Chelle bars visitors, journalists from Super Eagles camp pre-Zimbabwe
- Mikel oozes class in midfield, Babayaro starts as Chelsea Legends beaten by Liverpool
- 'Nowhere near as bad' - Former Burnley midfielder stands by Rangers striker Dessers amid criticism
- '300% confident' - Youngest Nigerian to feature at World Cup predicts Super Eagles v Warriors
- Barcelona showing interest in Super Eagles forward Lookman but he's not the top target
- 'People were shouting Osimhen' - Rohr on playing in Abidjan, what he expects from Zimbabwe in Uyo
- 'We read somewhere' - Troost-Ekong fires warning to Zimbabwe ahead of Uyo showdown
- 2026 World Cup qualifier: Three key areas Super Eagles must fix before facing Zimbabwe
- 'You can't do that against Nigeria' - Bafana Bafana coach explains why Mofokeng started v Lesotho
- 'Nigeria will help us' - Hugo Broos relying on Super Eagles to aid Bafana Bafana's qualification push


- Football Betting
- African Players
- Australia/ Asia
- Belgian Championship
- Bundesliga
- Danish Football
- English Premier League
- Nigeria National Teams
- Casinos not on Gamstop
- Nigeria Premier League
- Norwegian Football
- Polish Football
- Russian Championship
- Serie A
- Spanish Liga
- Swedish Championship
- Transfer
- Turkish Championship
- 1Win
- Ukrainian Football
- Uncategorized
- Women's Football
- New88
- hi88
- RR88
- hi88