Roony Bardghji knows the way

BarcelonaHe himself barely expected it, when after chaining four consecutive substitutions in La Liga, Hansi Flick put him in as a starter against Betis. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, when it was the 15th matchday of La Liga, played in mid-December, and Roony was able to demonstrate his talent. At that time, the coach needed to rotate because the Blaugranas had hosted Atlético de Madrid at the Camp Nou four days earlier and, three days after their visit to Cartuja, they were hosting Eintracht. Furthermore, Raphinha was injured. One of the alternatives involved placing the very young Dro as an attacking midfielder – in January he would move to PSG – and keeping Lamine Yamal on the right. The chosen one, finally, was Roony and the winger from Rocafonda centered his position, playing as an attacking midfielder.

Although he had already shown some details of his quality with the little time he had had, the former Copenhagen player took advantage of the duel against Betis to show his talent. The winger participated in Barça's first three goals. He set up Koundé for Ferran's 1-1 assist; he served the cross for the 1-2, also by Ferran, and he single-handedly created the third with a thunderous shot. First touch with his left, a quick run, and a cannon with his right. Lamine Yamal went to congratulate him effusively. Roony would play almost 70 minutes – until then his participation had been almost residual, with only two starts, against Valencia and Real – and Barça would win 3-5 against the Andalusian team.

The formula used that day is one of the alternatives available to Hansi Flick, without Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, who is expected to recover in time for the classic on May 10th. That day at Cartuja, the Blaugrana number 10 played as a link behind a forward line formed by Marcus Rashford on the left, Ferran Torres as center forward, and Roony on the right. Placing Dani Olmo as an attacking midfielder is one of the options the German coach could apply this Saturday (4:15 PM, Movistar) against Getafe. "He is ready, of course. He was already ready when we had Lamine. I already said it. He is doing well and now he will have more options to play, although we have not yet decided if he will start in Getafe," stated the Barça coach in the pre-match press conference.

While it is true that he played well against Betis and repeated his start in the Cup a week and a half later against Guadalajara, it is also true that Roony has not had much continuity. "He is a good footballer and has a great opportunity to be at Barça, but of course, his position is the same as Lamine Yamal's," they recall from the Sports City. He is the 21st player in minutes played for the entire squad (661), which is 3,014 less than Lamine Yamal. In fact, the winger from Rocafonda is the one who has played the most minutes for the entire squad: 3,702.

Hansi Flick gives more details about Lamine Yamal's injury

The accumulation of minutes, added to the inexperience in this type of injury, also helps to understand why the Barça star got hurt against Celta. This is how Hansi Flick explained it, revealing that Lamine Yamal already felt a little pain in the affected area, but still wanted to take the penalty kick, with what that entailed. "He felt something after the foul that caused the penalty, but nothing serious, and that's why we decided he should take it. It's his first muscle injury and, therefore, for him, it's not easy to interpret the signals the body can give. He will learn because he is very young," explained the Barça coach.

"We already know what it's like to play without him. We need him, yes, we are a team and if one piece is missing, we have to be more united and give 100% or more for our teammates. There are six games left and the objective is to win them. We have the quality to have a great game in Getafe," Flick added. Roony, a guy who "is liked in the locker room", and whom Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczesny mentored in their early days "due to their status as locker room veterans and due to a matter of English proficiency", awaits his opportunity. When he arrived at Barça, the 20-year-old Swedish winger made it clear that he was not coming to play for the reserves. In the last international break, at the end of March, he broke his silence: "I have patience, but I think I deserve to play more." The Swede can earn Flick's trust in the remaining six matchdays to seal the League.