From the streets to Barça

Bryan Ramírez spent most of his time playing footie in the streets, until a coach saw him and asked to join Marcet’s High Performance Academy.

Bryan Ramírez is, without a doubt, one of the most talented players to pass through the doors of Marcet. His story is somewhat unique. As Bryan hadn’t realised the amount of talent he had. He lived in a poor neighbourhood in Barcelona and spent most of his time in the streets, where he would knock his ball around. The way he stroked the ball had something special about it. So much so that it caught the eye of a coach from Marcet. He used to see him frequently at a park and he was astonished with what he could do with the ball. Keeping in mind that he hand’t had any official football training. The coach finally decided to get in touch with Bryan’s family. He was convinced that this six year old kid was worthy of an opportunity to show his talent on a football pitch.

This is how Bryan started to play for Marcet. This little master didn’t let anyone down. The way he interacted with the ball on the streets didn’t change when he moved onto grass. It was almost certain that with a few years training under Marcet’s methodology, Bryan would be in the running to sign for a top club. The parts of his game that he had to improve on the most were his discipline and respect for the rules. The High Performance Academy offered him the chance to improve these aspects, and for this reason his parents allowed their son to take part in the Junior Professional Program (MPEP). After a year playing in U-8s A team as an external player, Bryan joined the residence program the following season.

“He had a hard start to school. He came from a difficult background and wasn’t used to studying”, explains the Marcet head of pedagogy . “He also had trouble following the residency’s rules. We had to work a lot on all aspects of his discipline. He had a tutor that would help him everyday with his homework. Bit by bit Bryan started to adapt and after a year he had improved so much on these aspects”.

Top tier teams didn’t take long to show interest in the young talented forward. “All of our rivals were asking who he was… They were highly impressed with his qualities”, recalls the head of pedagogy. “However, both us and his family decided that it was too early for Bryan to make the step up to a big name club. We shouldn’t rush things. He first had to excel with personal growth and academic education before making the switch”.

The step up came a few years later. Bryan was no more that undisciplined neighbourhood kid that used to kick his ball around the streets. He was ready to make the jump up to professional football. FC Barcelona was first in line for his signature. And his start with the Blaugrana’s U-12s A side was brilliant. It didn’t take Bryan long to get into the Masia’s Top 5, as shown in the video below:

“On an athletic level, Bryan was one of the best players we’ve ever had at Marcet”, tells coach Arnau Basagaña. “He did have an issue with his attitude at the beginning, but working alongside him and his family everything worked out fine. Other than that, Bryan is a very quick footballer, with exceptional control and good decision making. He’s a very complete player, and without a doubt he’ll get far if he can manage his talent”.