Cubarsí backs Barça to turn it around: 'We've done it before'
Pau Cubarsí has backed Barcelona to overturn their 4-0 Copa del Rey deficit against Atlético, while keeping one eye firmly on Champions League glory.
The teenager who plays like a 30-year-old veteran isn’t losing any sleep over that Copa hiding. Pau Cubarsí has come out swinging, insisting Barça have the belief and the bottle to pull off another comeback.
The Copa situation
Let’s not sugarcoat it — 4-0 down from the first leg at the Metropolitano is a mountain and a half. But Cubarsí isn’t having any of the doom and gloom. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, the young centre-back pointed to Barça’s track record of pulling off the seemingly impossible, saying the group believes in comebacks and has actually delivered them.
He also had a right moan — and fair enough — about that VAR delay that ruled out his goal early in the second half. Nearly ten minutes of standing around, just as Barça had started to get a foothold in the game. Proper momentum-killer, that.
Growing into a leader
With Iñigo Martínez out the door, Cubarsí has had to step up and take on more responsibility at the back. Still only a kid, really, but he’s not shying away from it. A few things worth noting about where his head’s at:
- Flick’s message is simple: be yourself, play with confidence, trust the system
- The high defensive line — he acknowledges it’s risky, but argues it keeps the forwards pressing high and helps the whole team function as a unit
- Conceding goals is part of the deal, he reckons, but the belief is that they can always score more
It’s a bold way of looking at it, but when you’ve got Lamine Yamal and co. in front of you, maybe he’s got a point.
Eyes on the big prize
Cubarsí was refreshingly honest about the season — he admitted they didn’t exactly hit the ground running, but they’ve found their rhythm since. The Supercopa is already in the trophy cabinet, which is something.
But make no mistake, the Champions League is the one they’re all dreaming about. He made that crystal clear. Last season was special, and he knows this campaign needs to deliver something comparable — or better — to be remembered fondly at the Camp Nou.
For a lad who’s still basically a teenager, there’s a real calm authority about the way Cubarsí talks. No flannel, no corporate nonsense. He knows what the club expects, and he seems genuinely up for the challenge.