‘Magnificent goalkeeper‘ — Luis de la Fuente waxes lyrical about Barcelona star after calling him up to the Spain squad | OneFootball

Joan Garcia’s first senior Spain call-up already felt like a major moment for FC Barcelona, but Luis de la Fuente’s public praise pushed it even further. The Spaniard has undoubtedly been one of the best in his position in the world so far this season.

As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, De la Fuente defended the decision to call four goalkeepers and made it clear Joan was included on merit, not as an experiment. The Spain coach said:

“It was the right time to have these great goalkeepers. Today, they are the four goalkeepers who could be called up for the World Cup. It was very important that they were together.”

That alone is significant from a Barcelona perspective. Joan is not just being invited to make up numbers, he is already being discussed within Spain’s World Cup picture, which says a lot about how highly he is rated.

De la Fuente then went even further when speaking directly about the Barca goalkeeper. He said:

“Joan Garcia is a magnificent goalkeeper, one we have not discovered just now. We have known him for a long time. He was an Under-21 international with me. One of the best goalkeepers in the world.”

De la Fuente also explained why he wanted Joan around the group, saying:

“First, for living together; because we know him personally; because of his work capacity, professionalism, quality and competitiveness… So that the others bring out the best in themselves.”

For a manager like Luis de la Fuente, who has stuck to his guns since Day 1 of his Spain job, praising a player from the outside circle is massive. It is quite obvious that he sees the potential in Joan that everyone else does.

What the future holds for Joan in La Roja’s shirt remains to be seen. He is unlikely to usurp either Unai Simon or David Raya in time for the World Cup but there is no doubt that he will be a massive influence in the team in the coming seasons and beyond.