How Celades convinced Cruyff

Much of the history of FC Barcelona is associated with the legendary Johan Cruyff, the player and coach who defined the club's most famous playing style. Whilst his influence lives on at the Catalan club, he was also a key figure in the career of Valencia CF coach Albert Celades.

Celades was invited to try out for FC Barcelona by Joan Vilà, who had been told of the player's ability at junior level by scouts in Andorra -where he lived at the time.  He underwent a trial at Barça, and took just three days to convince the club to sign him.

"I remember that by the third day he was already showing a few signs of quality, and was getting better and better," recalls Vilà.  "When his three-day trial was up, I went to see Oriol Tort, the coordinator of youth football at Barça, and I told him that I wanted to see a bit more of Celades. He was a very introverted kid, but I saw some different things in him. I knew that if he stayed with us for a week, we would see a lot more from him."

"He was one of the three best players I coached during my 16 years at Barça. As the days went by, Albert loosened up. We could see from day one of the next week that he was a kid who we had to sign. That was obvious."

Despite his certainty about the signing, not everybody at FC Barcelona was so convinced.

"I drew up a report for them to sign him at all costs. He was a different player in some aspects, and I saw a personality on the pitch that attracted my attention. He had a lot of technical ability and an intelligence that has got him to where he was -and where he is today as a coach. I'm very happy that things are going well for him at Valencia CF," says Vilà.

The definitive say on Vilà's proposal, however, was given by Cruyff himself.

"One Thursday a Dutch team came to play a friendly, and Cruyff was there. I told him 'Johan, we have a kid on trial here, I'd like you to have a look at him, because he plays very well.' We watched the game together and five minutes in he said to me 'He's the best of all of them. We have to sign him, and now."

So began Celades' playing career at FC Barcelona. His path crosses with the Catalan club again this weekend, when Valencia CF host Barça at Mestalla on Saturday (4pm CET).