€15m utility man shows Barcelona they don’t need a new right-back – Opinion | OneFootball

FC Barcelona’s 2024–25 campaign has been one of success and near-misses. With the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey already secured, the Catalan club is just one win away from clinching La Liga. A semi-final run in the Champions League capped what’s been a season of real progress under Hansi Flick.

But success didn’t come without setbacks. Injuries to key players like Robert Lewandowski, Alejandro Balde, and Jules Kounde left Barca short-handed for their decisive Champions League second leg against Inter Milan. Yet in the face of adversity, one position that surprisingly didn’t falter was right-back.

It is a story of what could have been had Barcelona had the three players to depend upon in that game but that is something we will never know. However, one position where the absence has not been felt is at right-back.

Jules Kounde has transitioned into one of the best right-backs in the world this season and has added attacking impetus to his game. He has been flawless for many of the games and his natural fitness meant that he hardly ever needed to be rotated.

However, when he got injured, Barcelona had to call upon the services of Eric Garcia at right-back, and the Spaniard looks like he was born to play in that position. Playing against some very difficult opposition, he has held his own in his new role.

An unceremonious initiation

When Barcelona brought Eric Garcia over to the club after the expiry of his contract with Manchester City, they were in their worst phase in recent history. Financial issues were plaguing the club left, right and center and the squad hardly had any quality to put up a fight.

Eric Garcia is the ultimate Swiss-Knife. (Source: DataMB)

Eric came in and became a regular under Ronald Koeman at center-back and had a decent first season. However, his lack of physicality often ended up becoming a problem and last season, he decided to go out on loan to Girona.

Loan lessons that paid off

That stint at Girona under Michel seems to have done the Spaniard the world of good. Often used in different positions including center-back, right-back and midfield, Eric improved his game and returned to Barcelona this summer.

Fate or destiny, as one may call it, often tends to play a big role in a footballer’s career. Had Merc Bernal not suffered a season-ending ACL injury, Eric might have never stayed at the club back in the summer. In January, when the club were willing to sell him to Como, Hansi Flick veto-ed the transfer.

All this coupled with Andreas Christensen’s never ending injury problems and Ronald Araujo’s struggles to adapt to Flick’s system meant that Eric Garcia ended up becoming a very important squad player in the second half of the campaign.

Swiss-army knife

So far this season, the €15m-rated Spaniard has played 22 games as a centre-back, 15 games as a defensive midfielder and 5 games as a right-back. Despite the small sample size, one would have to say that his most comfortable position seems to be on the right.

In just the 5 games he has played there, Eric already has 3 goals and 1 assist. This includes match-changing goals against Real Madrid and Benfica and an almost match-altering goal against Inter Milan in the second leg.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Against one of the most unpredictable wingers in the world, Vinicius Jr., who is often known to give opposition full-backs nightmares, the Spaniard made sure he was not dribbled past even once and played the high-line system to perfection.

Barcelona fans have often been very critical of Eric Garcia but credit where credit is due. In one of the most important seasons for the club in recent years in one of its most crucial phases, the 24-year-old has stepped up in some fashion.

Eric, in many ways, has emerged as the evolved version of Sergi Roberto in the current Barcelona squad. The former captain was considered the ultimate Swiss Knife and the Spaniard seems to be a more well-rounded version of the same.

It doesn’t matter what the situation is for Barcelona in the summer, but they should resist accepting any transfer offers for Eric in the summer. The utility man has a natural football intelligence that cannot be bought and let’s hope he can stay in the Blue and Red jersey for a long time to come. This would also ensure that the club don’t need to invest money on a new-right back and that is the perfect solution.