Marc Guiu woke up today as the latest sensation in Spanish football following his stunning league debut for Barcelona last night.
Guiu, 17, was introduced from the bench with 10 minutes to go and with Barca struggling to break down Athletic Bilbao’s stubborn resistance.
Twenty-three seconds later, Guiu ran on to Joao Felix’s through ball and slotted past Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon to score the only goal of the game and create headlines around the world.
Footage of his family celebrating in the stand at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys soon circulated on social media and his father Manel admitted it was an awful lot to take in.
He told El Mundo Deportivo: “We couldn’t, even in our wildest dreams, expect a debut like this. It was the dream debut of any footballer.
“His mother, sister and I have all been crying. And everyone at home will be too, I’m sure. All the work over the past 11 seasons, giving our all and more, have been to reach this moment.”
Guiu himself was struggling to absorb the moment when he spoke afterwards.
He told TV3: “I can’t believe it, I am still out of breath. I am enjoying the moment and trying to digest it all.”
As for the goal itself, he added: “Joao Felix took control in the centre and I saw there was space. I controlled the ball, looked up, saw the goalkeeper had come out and I placed it. It’s an honour to score against Unai.”
This is great. Marc Guiu’s family just saw him score his first goal for Barça, the first time he got the ball, after less than a minute on the pitch… pic.twitter.com/G1QnkcAzVp
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) October 23, 2023
Barca boss Xavi was delighted that another La Masia product had made such a crucial impact, especially given his team was missing a host of attacking players, including first-choice centre forward Robert Lewandowski.
Of Guiu, he said: “He has a goal in him, he has a spark which I personally like.
“You have to look in your own house and I have no problem with that. You have to give them confidence, just like they gave to me.
“When I see that a kid is ready, he goes on to the field.”
