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It’s official: Luis Enrique today confirmed what we all expected – Luis Suarez will make his debut for FC Barcelona in tomorrow’s Joan Gamper Trophy match-up against Club Leon, Barça’s final preseason friendly before next weekend’s big kick-off against Elche CF. Speaking in today’s pre-match press conference, Enrique weighed in on a number of topics but the big headline surrounds Luis Suarez and his upcoming debut.
Of course, while Suarez will feature tomorrow, the Uruguayan forward will not be available for next weekend’s La Liga opener against Elche; in fact, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport did not completely overturn his ban, Suarez will not feature again in a Blaugrana jersey until the end of October. In that sense, tomorrow’s token debut can only be viewed as a political gesture, but it will be encouraging to see how Suarez fits in nonetheless given the frenzy that accompanied his arrival in Catalunya.
However, while Suarez may steal the headlines, Lucho gave us more good news, confirming that – against all the odds – Neymar will be given the medical green light prior to tomorrow’s friendly and that the Brazilian may too feature in the Barça attack.
Previous estimates had ruled Neymar out of the start of the season following Juan Zuniga’s horror challenge in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final, but the Brazilian boy wonder has been training with the squad for the best part of a week and may now be in contention for a starting berth against Elche. In addition, club captain Xavi Hernández is also expected to receive the medical green light tomorrow and will be with the squad for the start of the campaign after recovering from a calf injury sustained against OGC Nice.
With Lionel Messi expected to feature for the first time this preseason, Luis Enrique kept his cards close to his chest, refusing to confirm or deny that Suarez, Messi and Neymar will feature together against Club Leon tomorrow.
What do you think Culés? Will Lucho opt for the big guns and play all three at the same time, or will we have to wait for El Clasico for the first chance to see Suarez, Messi and Neymar in the Barça frontline?
