New faces at Barça to compete with Cata Coll

BarcelonaCata Coll is the goalkeeper for Barça women's team. After a year on loan at Sevilla, the Balearic footballer knew how to wait for her moment until she became the undisputed starter – at Barça and for the Spanish national team. Hard work, consistency, and patience paid off for Cata Coll, considered one of the best goalkeepers of today. This, however, is a very delicate area in football and the blaugrana club has worked during the summer to strengthen the position.

With the departure of Txell Font – who left for free to Badalona Women in search of minutes –, Cata Coll and Gemma Font were left alone in goal. Since Pere Romeu became head coach, he has always worked with three goalkeepers. In the first season of the Catalan coach, Ellie Roebuck accompanied Coll and Font, even though the English player only played two games in a Barça shirt. Last season, Txell Font – who was promoted from the reserves – was the third in question. This year, the sporting management, headed by Marc Vivés, has decided to go to the market and sign two goalkeepers, Tyler McCamey – with a first-team contract – and Khadijah Cissé – who will strengthen the Barça reserves.

McCamey, the will to wear blaugrana

The announcement by Tyler McCamey surprised everyone, as he was not one of the names that had been rumored to strengthen Pere Romeu's squad –as Renee Van Asten had done, Martina Fernández or the future signing, Kerolin Nicoli–. The 24-year-old American goalkeeper arrives on a free transfer from Dallas Trinity – where she played 16 games last season with three clean sheets in the USL Superleague (a professional category parallel to the NWSL) – and signs until 2028.

McCamey signed last January for Dallas with the clear intention of coming to Barça. The footballer saw it as a necessary step to gain minutes and match practice before landing at the reigning European champions, which was her intention. "She is in the elite. She conveys calm and consistency in her performances, she is excellent in this aspect," said Nathan Thackeray, her coach at Dallas, before playing in the League semi-finals of the play-offs.

Born in Atlanta, she played four years at Princeton University before making the leap to the North American league with Gotham. She also played for Kansas City Current before arriving at Dallas Trinity FC. An experience that is very welcome at Barça, where last Tuesday she began training together with her teammates. People who know her define her as a committed person who arrives eager to form a team, learn and help Cata Coll improve. In addition, they also highlight her physique. "She is fast and technically very polished," they point out from the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. McCamey is integrating perfectly into the locker room and, although she has only been at Barça for a week, she already knows some Spanish.

A bet for the future

The Catalan club has also decided to strengthen the goalkeeping of Òscar Belis' Barça B –recently renewed until 2028– with the incorporation of Khadijah Cissé. The Canadian goalkeeper arrives from the Kentucky Wildcats of the NCAA First Division – university league of the United States – and signs until 2030. "I am a tall goalkeeper, I am not afraid to try new things and if I fail the first time I try again until it works out for me, my goal is to improve every day and give my 100%,” she defined herself in statements to the club.

Cissé –who will play the U-20 World Cup with Canada from September 5 to 27– has trained under Pere Romeu's guidance throughout the first week of activity for the women's team. From the Ciutat Esportiva, they highlight her strong physique – "very difficult to find on the market" – and the great potential she has despite her youth. "She has great reach and can move agilely and quickly. The priority is to work on the physical and tactical aspects with her," they say about a player who seems "very outgoing and fun." Like McCamey, Cissé also knows a few words in Spanish already and will soon integrate fully into the group.