It would be foolish to think that young players won’t make mistakes when they get a chance to play in the first team, so the most important thing is how they bounce back from it.
The margins are so tight at the top level and it’s one of the main reasons why elite clubs are hesitant to play younger defensive players – attackers can make mistakes and it’s fine, but a defensive mistake will usually result in a goal.
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo made a dreadful mistake to gift Eibar the opening goal in their draw tonight, but it’s encouraging to hear reports from Spain which suggested he wanted to come out and face the media to apologise:
Al finalizar el partido, Araujo ha pedido hablar en TV. No se esconde. Asume su error y da la cara. Jugador comprometido. Aprenderá de ello. Central para muchos años #fcblive pic.twitter.com/5OYWFwNI1m
— Albert Rogé (@albert_roge) December 29, 2020
Obviously that doesn’t erase the mistake and it won’t go down well if he keeps making errors, but it would’ve been so easy to hide away and let the manager take the blame.
The team also missed a penalty and should have enough quality to put Eibar to bed at home so he’s not the only one to blame, and at least this gesture does suggest he’s a defender with a solid character who could have leadership potential in the future.
I WANT RUIG PUG TO CAME A FIRST TEAM
Defense is horrible at Barca. Game after game they keep costing the team. And at time it’s the lineup by Koeman. I knew right away today we could have issues when I saw Lenglet not playing the middle. He should have been anchoring the defense not playing on the outside. Rookie mistake by the coach.