Isaac Cuenca

~ Isaac Cuenca ~

`Personal information
- Full name Joan Isaac Cuenca López
- Date of birth 27 April 1991 (1991-04-27) (age 20)
- Place of birth Reus, Spain
- Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
- Playing position Winger

` Club information
- Current club Barcelona B
- Number: 22 / 39 "1st team"
- Youth career
2001–2003 Espanyol
2003–2006 Barcelona
2006–2008 Reus
2008–2009 CF Damm
2009–2010 Barcelona

- Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2010– Barcelona B 6 (2)
2010–2011 → Sabadell (loan) 32 (4)
2011– Barcelona 2 (1)
------------------

Joan Isaac Cuenca López (born 27 April 1991 in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona B as a right winger.

` Football career
Cuenca joined FC Barcelona's La Masia in 2003, aged just 12. Halfway through his third youth year, however, he returned home and joined local CF Reus Deportiu, remaining with the club a further two (full) seasons.

Cuenca finished his formation with CF Damm and Barcelona, rejoining the latter in 2009. He made his senior debuts in the 2010–11 season, being loaned to yet another Catalonia club, CE Sabadell FC in the third division. He made an immediate impact, starting in 24 of his appearances and totalling 2,288 minutes as the Arlequinats returned to the second level after a 18-year absence.

In June 2011, Cuenca returned to Barcelona and joined its B team, alongside Martí Riverola. Shortly after, he was called by first-team manager Josep Guardiola to the pre-season, and made his debut on 23 July against HNK Hajduk Split.

Cuenca made his official debut for Barça B on 4 September 2011, playing the last 29 minutes in a 4–0 away win against FC Cartagena, and scoring the last goal of the match. On 19 October, he made his first official appearance for the main squad, replacing David Villa in the dying minutes of a 2–0 home success against FC Viktoria Plzeň, for the season's UEFA Champions League.

On 25 October 2011, after another game as a substitute (unused), Cuenca made his La Liga debut, playing the full 90 minutes and being booked in a 1–0 away win against Granada CF. Four days later, again as a starter, he scored in a 5–0 home success over RCD Mallorca, assisted by Adriano. Then, on the 1st of November 2011, Cuenca assisted a goal by Cesc Fàbregas in the 4-0 victory over FC Viktoria Plzeň.

So how far can he go? what do u expect from him?
do u think he should be promoted? ( Guardiola said, after yesterday's match, that Cuenca will stay with the first team)?

Can someone tell me was he in the fringes of the first team for a long time? To me, it seemed like he suddenly came to the first team. Amazing skills by him btw, looks like a great find.

Mr.Hendrix wrote:Can someone tell me was he in the fringes of the first team for a long time? To me, it seemed like he suddenly came to the first team. Amazing skills by him btw, looks like a great find.

He was on loan last season.

Will become better than Pedro, IMO.

You guys have an actual gem, here.

Affelay will be deemed surplus, imo.

I think he will become Villa's replacement eventually as we become more and more reliant on dribblers who are able to create space in tight areas and parked buses, and less so on finishers as we used to be with Eto'o Henry Ibra Villa Pedro etc. as Messi is going to start scoring most of the goals.

How's his heading, btw?


With that height (181 cm), he could be decent in the air.

Seems like a hot prospect but let’s wait a little more to pass judgement

billy_gr wrote:
Seems like a hot prospect but let’s wait a little more to pass judgement

Agreed, its far too early to speculate

The catalan Hleb.

Has played really well and fearlessly. With him, Messi and Sanchez, there is some dribble power in front.

http://www.totalbarca.com/2011/news/pictures-of-the-day-cuenca-from-fan-to-teammate/

Lol @ some of these pictures.

Impressed me in pre-season.

Impressing me now.

Looks like he'll be a real gem, as said.

~ Barca players called for Spain U-21: Thiago, Cuenca, Montoya, Bartra, Planas, Muniesa & X- La Masia Romeu.

Full Squad: http://www.rfef.es/index.jsp?nodo=130

Not bad at freestyling

As the Manchester United players departed the field after a training session, the Barcelona players walked onto the pitch at Washington DC's Fed Ex stadium in late July.

Some of the rivals let on to each other, the bigger names who'd lined up against each other at Wembley only two months previous. Many of the players didn't recognise their foes, such was the number of reserve players in both squads. No Barca players recognised Tom Cleverley and for sure no United players knew Isaac Cuenca.

Cuenca might have pinched himself to check he wasn't dreaming. A year earlier, Barcelona's B team boss and current AS Roma coach Luis Enrique looked through the prospects available and completely bypassed the callow winger from Reus in the south of Catalonia.

The youngster who was famous in his barrio for walking to school while playing keepy-uppy with a football.

Cuenca, then 18, was sent on loan to third division Sabadell. Just as Cleverley had prospered from his loan moves to Leicester, Watford and Wigan, so Cuenca thrived at Sabadell, the team from a working class city of 200,000, 20 kilometres from Barcelona. His new team were promoted to Spain's second division for the first time in 18 years and Cuenca played a starring role.

"It was a great experience for me," Cuenca told me after Tuesday's Champions League game. "I played every week and felt myself improving as we won the league. It was a very happy year in my life."

Such was his affinity with Sabadell, he stayed living there with a local girl, but for his day job he returned to Barca. He was immediately called up to Barca's first team squad for the pre-season tour. It seemed Pep Guardiola had seen something in this graduate of the Masia which Luis Enrique had missed. Cuenca didn't travel just to be a passenger and found himself playing in Washington against United in front of a huge 81,807 crowd.

"After the tour, I expected to go back to Barca B and win a place in that team," says Cuenca.

"I knew that would be difficult though, so maybe my aim was to play as many minutes as possible for Barca B."

He did drop back into the Barça's B team in Spain's second division, a player with a squad number of 39 wouldn't have expected anything else and besides, it was still a step up for him as he'd never played in that division.

He'd have another surprise a few months into the season. With winger Ibrahim Afellay injured, Cuenca was called up as a sub for the first team for Champions League game against Viktoria Plzen.

"When the coach told me to go on the pitch, well, that was the highlight of my life so far," he says. "It was only a couple of minutes at the end, but there I was playing in a real game in Camp Nou. For a Barca B player that was a dream. For a Barca fan it was a dream. I've always supported the club and so have my family. My idols were Rivaldo when I was really young and then Ronaldinho."

A week after his three minute Champions League cameo, Cuenca made his first start in a league game at Granada.

"That went well too and I found myself learning every day in training from the first team players," he says. "They were great with me and the mister (Guardiola) always has small pieces of advice for me."

Cuenca has since started five times for Barça and scored his first goal on Saturday.

"He has good movement, confidence and knows role in team," says former Barca striker Steve Archibald. "Young players don't often take their chance but Cuenca has. He gets a lot of the ball which shows that his team mates have confidence in him. That will help him no end."

Cuenca stretches Barca wide by hugging the line, he crosses well and cuts inside to assist.

Lionel Messi set him up for his first Barca goal in Saturday's 5-0 victory over Levante, with a pass across the edge of the area which Cuenca guided home. There was praise for him after the game too from his manager, though it might not have been quite what he was expecting.

"Maybe the girls don't like him," said a smiling Guardiola in the press conference after the game, "but he plays perfectly." Cuenca merely blushed and replied classily, "You'll have to ask the girls."

It was an unfair comment, but Guardiola adores the young winger, and if a Barca player is going to have a biggest fan who better than Guardiola?

Cuenca has also been called up for Spain's U21s, the current European champions, alongside David de Gea, Oriol Romeu, Iker Muniain and Thiago.

And he started last night as a weakened Barca team beat BATE Borisov 4-0. Cuenca enjoyed his best performance to date, a man of the match in which he set up the second and third goals in a manner of which Iniesta or Xavi would have been proud.

Will he play in Saturday's key Clasico against Real Madrid in the Bernabéu?

"That's up to the coach," he says, "but I'm ready if I am chosen. I will do nothing differently. My feet are on the ground, whether I'm chosen for the first team or the B team."


Source

Stories like this is exactly why we cannot lose Pep. He is so good at spotting talent in the youth ranks and knowing when to bring them up and how to integrate them into the team.

I have said numerous times on these boards that when Pedro doesn't play I think we lose our width and his hard work which is contagious. Cuenca fills in great for Pedro and I like how he looks comfortable on both wings plus he looks to be a more polished passer. Pedro still has a better eye for goal and IMO is still better but I really like Cuenca and is height doesn't hurt either.

Thanks for sharing RG, it was a nice read.

~ Cuenca Stats:
8 matches with the first team, 6 starts, 2 goals and 4 assists ( +1 penalty won)...

If Ceunca gets promoted (which he will) then we will probably have to sell Pedro or Afellay, wouldn't we as probably one of them won't have much of a go.
Can you promote players in the Janurary transfer market?

paxtonpale wrote:If Ceunca gets promoted (which he will) then we will probably have to sell Pedro or Afellay, wouldn't we as probably one of them won't have much of a go.
Can you promote players in the Janurary transfer market?

You can promote players whenever you want really, but yes... in January there is another registration date and he could get a first team number then if they want to, but this would mean he can't play for the B team anymore.

Any chance this dude starts in the Clasico?

I really doubt he will strat

Start no, but I think he will be given a chance if Villa, Pedro or Sanchez arent playing well.

Pep wont hesitate to put him in I think.

Love this thread, as a Barca fan, lots of great info. As curious if I may ask, but how do members such as Khaledbarca, Gunner and Kizz know so much? Im new so excuse the silly quesitons, but this is forum for the news website Goal.com right, are anyone of u staff there? Make me wonder since u guys have so much in depth info

Cuenca looks very good so far and is a real winger which we need. Hes more on dimension and obvious young and not a complete player but very good at what he does and one of the more mature youngsters it seems, so its great o add him in.

On the question of players promotion to A team. So now that hes promoted with a squad no., he can no longer play for B team again correct? Ir just come January, would it be allowed to demote him back to B if Guardiola wants? Just curious. Thanks

And the most amazing thing is reading up his history and stats, he was playing in third division loan side just last season and this is just half a season if that into the new season and hes in the first team, goes to show the level of quick development these yougnsters can make and how much trust Guardiola puts in his youth, just amazing and great to see!