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Flick se quedó sin Koundé, Eric García y Christensen… y para viajar a París eligió a Àlex Campos. Central de 18 años, capitán del Barça Atlètic y de la España sub-18. ¿Quién es y hasta dónde puede llegar?
En este vídeo repasamos su camino desde Aitona y el Atlètic Segre hasta La Masia, qué tipo de central es, qué le pide la línea adelantada de Flick, a quién tiene por delante y cuál es su proyección realista. Sin vender humo.
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0:00
On Monday, the squad list for the match
0:01
against Paris Saint-Germain was
0:03
released, and there was one name on
0:04
that list that almost everyone had to
0:06
look up on Google. I am talking about
0:08
Alex Campos, an 18-year-old center-back
0:09
and one of the Barça Athletic captains
0:11
, who wasn't there by chance; obviously
0:13
, it's not the norm, and Flick brought
0:14
him because he had three injured
0:16
center-backs: Koundé, Eric García,
0:17
and Christensen. It is clearly a
0:20
conditioned decision, but for you to
0:21
take Alex Campos in an emergency
0:23
situation and for a match as important
0:25
as the one against Paris Saint-Germain,
0:26
arguably the best opponent in Europe
0:28
right now, I think speaks volumes.
0:31
Although we all know he didn't play,
0:32
the fact that he was called up means
0:34
that if he had to come on at any moment
0:36
, you trust him. That is why today I am
0:38
here to tell you who he is, where he
0:39
comes from, what kind of center-back he
0:41
is, what his weak points are, and what
0:43
he needs to do to reach the first team
0:44
one day. Alex Campos was born on
0:46
February 2, 2008, in Aitona, a village
0:47
in the Segrià region of Lleida. He is
0:49
a 6'1 "center-back and has a contract
0:51
with Barça until June 2029, with an
0:53
option for one more year. And a detail
0:55
that I really like is that he is the
0:56
captain of the Spain U-18 team, which
0:58
means that it’s not just Barça that
0:59
trusts him, but the Spanish Federation
1:01
as well. His story begins at Athletic
1:03
Segre in Lleida, and there is a fact
1:05
here that explains a lot about how he
1:06
plays today. Back then, as a youngster,
1:08
he wasn't a center-back, but a
1:10
defensive midfielder, and Barça had
1:11
been following him since that stage.
1:13
Alex arrived at La Masia in the summer
1:15
of 2021, in his second year of the U-14
1:17
level, a bit late compared to kids who
1:19
join at 8 or 9 years old, and that is
1:21
quite a merit because joining such a
1:23
structure at 13 is not easy at all. You
1:25
arrive in a locker room where many have
1:27
surely known each other for years,
1:28
where there are hierarchies, and you
1:30
have to earn your place from scratch,
1:31
and from there on, it is a fairly clear
1:33
path up the ladder. He went through the
1:35
Cadet A in 23/24, the Youth B in 24/25,
1:37
and the Youth A in 25/26. One step for
1:40
each year, without skipping any stages.
1:42
But watch out, because in the middle of
1:44
that ladder, something happens. In
1:45
October 2024, at 16 years old and still
1:47
in Youth B, Flick brought him up to
1:49
train with the first team; a 16-
1:51
year-old kid sharing a session with
1:53
Lewandowski, Raphinha, Lamine, and
1:55
Cubarsí, and this is important for
1:57
what comes next. And the 25/26 season
1:58
begins with him living in two teams at
2:00
once. He debuted with the reserve team
2:02
on September 28, 2025, at San Andreu's
2:04
stadium in a 1-0 win, and ended that
2:06
season with 14 matches for Barça
2:07
Atlètic, nine as a starter with one
2:09
goal, and 22 matches with Pol Planas '
2:11
Juvenil A. And I repeat, all this while
2:13
still being a second-year youth player.
2:15
Obviously, there are kids who spent
2:17
that whole year in the youth team, and
2:19
that’s fine, nothing wrong with that.
2:20
That's normal, but he was already
2:22
competing against people with much more
2:23
experience in the Segunda Federación,
2:25
and this summer, the reward came. A
2:27
renewal until 2029, and in September,
2:28
the club named him one of the four
2:30
captains of Barça Atlètic, along with
2:31
Àlex Farré, Eder Aller, and Guillem
2:33
Víctor. But being in that group says
2:35
something about the character you have.
2:36
Now let's get to the current moment,
2:38
which is why we are here. In the '25
2:40
match against Betis, Barça lost
2:41
Koundé to an ankle sprain and Eric
2:43
García to a rectus femoris injury that
2:44
keeps him out for three or four weeks.
2:46
Christensen was already out, and
2:48
suddenly Flick had very few first-team
2:50
defenders to go to the Parc des Princes
2:52
against the reigning European champions
2:54
, Paris Saint-Germain. And obviously,
2:56
there were options: he could have
2:57
brought up no one and used what he had
2:59
by shifting players, or he could bring
3:01
up a kid from the academy, and in this
3:03
case, he chose Alex Campos. And why did
3:05
he choose Alex Campos? Well, I think
3:07
for three reasons. First, because he
3:09
already knows him. He's had his eye on
3:10
him since he was 16. Second, because of
3:13
the club's confidence in him—the
3:14
renewal, the captaincy, the U-18 status
3:16
—everything points in the same
3:17
direction. And third, because he's
3:19
playing; he's a regular for Barça
3:20
Atlètic alongside Javi Carbó, who we
3:22
made a video about. And right now,
3:24
Barça Atlètic, with that center-back
3:25
duo, is leading its group with only one
3:27
goal conceded in six matches. And for a
3:29
reserve team to concede one goal in six
3:30
games, the center-backs must have
3:32
something to do with it. Obviously,
3:34
it's not all their credit because
3:35
defending is a job for all 11, but when
3:37
a team doesn't concede, there's usually
3:38
someone at the back who organizes the
3:39
defense well. Now let's talk about what
3:42
kind of center-back Alex Campos is. If
3:44
I have to define him in one sentence,
3:45
I'd define him as a sober center-back
3:47
who defends first and plays the ball
3:49
out. Right, let's go step by step.
3:50
First, his aerial game is probably what
3:52
stands out most about him, in both
3:54
boxes—defending and also going
3:56
forward on set pieces. And in a league
3:58
like the Segunda Federación, having a
3:59
good aerial game is decisive, and
4:01
clearly in the first division, we’re
4:03
seeing that the aerial game is becoming
4:04
more and more important. Second, he is
4:07
decisive. When he has to make a tackle,
4:08
he goes for it; he’s not a
4:09
center-back who waits or just follows,
4:10
he’s one of those who breaks up the
4:12
play well. Third, here is his legacy as
4:14
a defensive midfielder: he lifts his
4:15
head before making a pass. He has a
4:17
good outlet pass, and at Barça, that
4:19
isn’t an extra, it’s a requirement,
4:20
and clearly, he doesn't hide when he
4:22
receives the ball. And fourth, his
4:24
versatility. He can play as a pivot.
4:25
Obviously, I’m not saying he’s
4:27
going to play as a pivot for the first
4:29
team, far from it, because we know that
4:30
position is already very well covered.
4:32
But that ability to play in front of
4:33
the defense gives him a different read
4:35
of the game when he’s at the back,
4:36
and he knows what a midfielder needs
4:38
because he’s been one. And now
4:39
let’s make it clear what he is not. I
4:42
wouldn’t compare him to Cubarsí; he
4:43
doesn't have that pass between the
4:44
lines that breaks two lines of pressure
4:45
at once. The fact is that Cubarsí is
4:47
an exceptional case, and comparing him
4:49
to him would be unfair to both. And
4:51
he’s not a top-speed center-back
4:53
either; he’s not someone who is going
4:55
to run 40 meters backward, like Araujo
4:57
could, for example, even though he is
4:59
more limited in other facets. So, Alex
5:01
Campos’s defense is based more on
5:02
positioning and anticipation than on
5:04
raw physical running. And now let’s
5:06
analyze, because with all this we can
5:07
say he’s a good center-back, but the
5:09
real question is: is he a good
5:10
center-back for what Hansi Flick asks
5:12
for? Hansi Flick’s Barça defends
5:14
very high up with a line almost at
5:16
midfield, and that has two consequences
5:18
: one, there is a lot of space behind
5:20
you, and two, the offside trap must be
5:22
perfectly coordinated because if one
5:23
player is lagging, the opposing striker
5:25
has an advantage. So, I have four
5:27
requirements for a center-back at this
5:29
Barça, and let’s see where Campos
5:31
stands on each one. First: defending
5:33
the space in behind. Here, honestly, is
5:35
where I have the most doubts. We’ve
5:37
already said he’s not a sprinter, so
5:39
if he has to face an Mbappé, a
5:40
Vinícius, or a Diomandé in an
5:42
open-field sprint, he might struggle
5:44
just as any 18-year-old center-back
5:45
would. Okay, but this is the first
5:47
thing we have to look at in a Barça
5:49
defense. Second, setting the line, and
5:51
here things change. Knowing when to
5:53
step up, when to hold, or when to catch
5:55
the striker offside, that’s about
5:56
reading the game and communication. And
5:58
if there’s one thing that defines him
5:59
, it’s his reading of the game, plus
6:00
the fact that he’s been at La Masia
6:02
his whole life. Third, the first pass
6:03
under Flick; the center-back can’t
6:05
just limit himself to passing to the
6:06
guy next to him. He has to find the
6:08
pivot or skip a line of pressure.
6:10
That’s where his past as a defensive
6:12
midfielder can really help him. As I
6:13
said, he’s not Cubarsí, but he’s
6:14
not a center-back who doesn’t play
6:16
good passes either. And fourth, duels.
6:18
When the opponent plays direct to
6:19
bypass your pressure, the center-back
6:21
has to win in the air, and that is
6:22
precisely his strongest point. So, if
6:25
we take stock, we have two requirements
6:26
he meets with flying colors, one he
6:28
does well, and one he still has to
6:29
prove, so for an 18-year-old kid,
6:30
it’s not bad at all. Now let’s be
6:33
realistic. How many people are
6:35
currently ahead of Alex Campos? In the
6:38
first team, when everyone is healthy,
6:39
you have Cubarsí, who is untouchable,
6:41
Eric García, who is admittedly playing
6:43
a lot at full-back but can play
6:44
center-back, Gerard Martín,
6:46
Christensen, and Koundé, who could
6:47
play as a center-back even though
6:49
he’s been playing as a full-back, so,
6:51
at the very least, you have those five
6:53
players ahead of him. And then
6:55
there’s the competition from below,
6:56
which also exists. As I said, Jafiz
6:58
Gariba, his teammate at Barça Atlètic
6:59
, for example, was going to do the
7:01
preseason with the first team. So
7:03
Campos is obviously not only competing
7:04
with the first-team players, but he’s
7:06
also competing with those of his own
7:07
generation. And there’s something I
7:09
find interesting here, which is that
7:11
this time, he was the one chosen. That
7:12
doesn’t mean it will always be like
7:14
that, but in an emergency situation,
7:16
when Flick had to choose a name, he
7:18
chose his, even though, for example, we
7:20
already saw that last season he chose
7:21
Álvaro Cortés and this season he has
7:23
left Barça. And now let’s look back,
7:25
let’s look at the last center-backs
7:27
to come out of La Masia, because
7:28
obviously, they haven’t all ended up
7:30
the same way. There is the case of
7:32
Cubarsí, which is clearly the most
7:34
successful; he debuted at 16 and was a
7:36
starter within weeks, but that is an
7:37
exception and not the norm, so no one
7:39
should expect Campos to follow that
7:41
path. And then there are cases like
7:44
Chadi Riad or Mikayil Faye,
7:45
center-backs with a good level in the
7:46
reserves who were close to the first
7:48
team and were eventually sold, but that
7:49
is not a failure either. Barça brought
7:52
in money, the player went to play in
7:53
the first division or a top league, so
7:55
both win. So, honestly, Campos has
7:58
three possible paths. One, carving out
8:00
a spot in the first team, little by
8:01
little as a fourth or fifth center-back
8:03
, which is the most difficult. Two,
8:04
continuing in Barça Atlètic and in
8:06
the future, if he doesn't make it to
8:07
the first team, going out on loan. And
8:09
three, becoming an asset that Barça
8:11
ends up selling. I believe that today,
8:13
the second path is the most likely in
8:14
the medium term: staying at Barça
8:16
Atlètic and, in the event he doesn't
8:18
manage to break in as a fourth or fifth
8:19
center-back for the first team, going
8:21
out on loan or even being sold in a few
8:22
years. And before the conclusions,
8:24
let's stop for a second to talk about
8:26
the club, because Campos is a perfect
8:28
example of how La Masia works today.
8:30
With Flick, bringing a kid up to train
8:31
or to a squad list is no longer rare
8:33
news. It is practically routine. And
8:36
that is obviously good because the
8:38
players know the door is open, so it's
8:39
not like other teams that sell you on
8:41
the idea of having opportunities but
8:42
you never actually get them. But it
8:45
also has an economic reading. Barça
8:46
cannot go to the market for a fourth
8:48
center-back every time there are two
8:49
injuries. So it needs to have someone
8:51
ready below, and for that someone to be
8:53
a homegrown kid. And that is exactly
8:55
what has happened with this squad list
8:56
for the Paris Saint-Germain match. In
8:58
short, we could say that Alex Campos is
9:00
a sober center-back, strong in the air,
9:02
good with the ball, and with leadership
9:04
. I don't think he's going to be the
9:05
next Pau Cubarsí. As you have already
9:07
heard in this video, I think his big
9:09
pending task to work on is defending in
9:10
open space, something we know is very
9:12
important at Barça due to the high
9:14
press, but he is one of those players
9:15
we know will always be 100%focused and
9:17
engaged. I personally like him a lot.
9:19
What I like most is how he has gone
9:21
step by step through every stage at
9:22
Barça. And now I ask you, what do you
9:24
think of Alex Campos if you didn't know
9:25
him? And if you think we will see him
9:27
in the first-team squad more times this
9:29
season, leave it in the comments and we
9:30
will be reading them. And remember that
9:32
if you liked the video, don't forget to
9:34
leave a like and a subscription, which
9:35
is greatly appreciated.
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