Star who turned down Barca for Birmingham scores three as Xavi avoids cup shock
Barcelona avoided an almighty scare on Wednesday evening as Ansu Fati's extra-time winner knocked Intercity out of the Copa del Rey.
Intercity, of the Spanish third tier, fought back from a goal down on three separate occasions to fire level. And all three of the minnows' goals came from a familiar source, Oriol Soldevila: a former Barcelona youngster.
Soldevila came through the famous La Masia academy, but failed to ever make a first-team appearance for the Blaugrana. Instead, Soldevila snubbed Xavi and his litany of first-team stars to move to Birmingham City in 2020.
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After the game, Soldevila said: "I've been culé [a Barcelona fan] since I can remember, I'm a member too. With the 1st I was happy, with the 2nd and 3rd, I couldn't believe it."
However, despite some of the best players on the planet lining up opposite the striker – there was only one man whose shirt he wanted. "The shirt I'll ask for is Arnau Tenas, the third keeper there. He is my best friend in football, that's the one I want."
The duo came through the academy together, and Tenas was on the bench for Barcelona during the clash.
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After the game, Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who found himself on the scoresheet, told Movistar: " It was the magic of the cup."
He added: "It will serve us to learn from, the cup is like this, we know that."
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