Fransisco Trincão has the ability to become a world-beater one day, but Barcelona, and the fans must be patient with the 20-year-old, who is only in his second season of senior football.
In their fifth Champions League clash in 2020/21, Barcelona marched towards their fifth victory in a row. Needless to say, despite fielding a rotated squad, Ronald Koeman’s troops delivered an incredible performance, brushing off their opponents with ease.
The scoreline at the board stood at 3-0 for the Catalans, but it could’ve been so much more. And while most had a night to remember, probably the opposite is true for the young Portuguese starlet, Francisco Trincão.
Barcelona’s 20-year-old newcomer found himself in numerous favourable opportunities during the night, once even facing an almost empty net, but failed to take his chances time and time again. It goes without saying that frustration was building over the course of the 90 minutes, both with the player himself and the raging fanbase that was quick to jump on his throat.
There is no denying he had to do better than that – yes, he is only 20 but much more is expected from a talent dubbed to be the Catalans’ big star in the future. At the same time, however, Barcelona fans looked a bit too eager to criticise him in the first place. Let’s rewind the story for a bit.
This is a youngster who’s still in his first season at Barcelona and has tallied a grand total of 48 games for his former club’s senior squad before making a huge switch to the La Liga giants. That equates to around one full season and eight games in senior football after stints exclusively in the academy. (Transfermarkt)
When everything is said and done, we are still talking about a highly inexperienced player that’s been given an opportunity of a lifetime but is also way out of his depth. For now, at least. In the future, he can become what many hope he will – a star. Continue reading