Javi Morcillo and Taufik Seidu make first-team debuts | OneFootball

Despite the defeat, the clash against FC Barcelona brought several positive pieces of news. One in particular from a La Academia perspective: Javier Morcillo and Taufik Seidu made their first-team debuts.

First of all, I want to stress something people keep wrongly repeating over and over: the concept of a “homegrown player.” I often hear people say that “those who play in the academy are homegrown.” Fans talk about Morcillo as if he were one... and the reality is very different. What is the reality? That a player who arrives directly to the reserve team — regardless of how — can never be considered homegrown, because his development took place at other clubs, and Morcillo, after all, is in his first season as a red-and-white player following his arrival in the summer 2025 transfer window.

Since I’m talking about Morcillo, I’ll continue with him. The 20-year-old midfielder has grown with Atlético Madrileño as the season has progressed, starting out on the bench — although Torres likes to say there are no substitutes or starters — because of the strong performances of the Serrano–Bellotti duo, and little by little he has earned opportunities, eventually putting in two genuinely outstanding performances against Cartagena and Antequera. A positional midfielder with good passing judgment and growing defensive value, able to anticipate, win duels, and recover balls from midfield onward.

The case of Taufik is different. He joined La Academia in 2018 from Málaga CF to be part of the Alevín B team. In other words, a large part of his development has taken place as a red-and-white player... and there is still more to come. A midfielder who combines special physical traits compared to his teammates, which allows him to come out on top in duels and ball interceptions. However, he still has notable room for improvement on the ball, especially in his timing when releasing it. If he corrects that, in my opinion, he would be unstoppable. For now, he plays for Atlético de Madrid C, where he is usually a starter, even more so now with Darío Frey out, but he has also had to work hard at right-back because of injuries to players in that position. At a good level, by the way. And he said NO to Real Madrid.

Both made their debuts in the second half against the side from the Catalan capital. They were composed, did not look out of place, and made a good impression on the crowd with their off-the-ball attitude. They also left a few little messages in the form of the odd foul on the Barça players, as a show of intensity and authority on the pitch.

Atlético de Madrid have no shortage of absences in the first team, which is why as many as 7 players from La Academia were called up. That number is expected to drop, at least in goal, since Oblak is close to returning to training with the group, but they will continue calling on players from Madrileño and the lower categories. Many want to see them get more minutes in the league, but the question I ask myself is... will they get more opportunities?

We are not talking about whether they deserve it or not. But this is where my view of the situation comes in. When you decide to start Julio Díaz in Oviedo, giving him the full 90 minutes and seeing him play a key role in the goal, you cannot then afford not to give him minutes again and keep him in the first-team dynamic, because the only thing that has been achieved is taking an important player away from Madrileño and then not playing him. Something similar happened with Jano, who got minutes in the draw away at Levante and has not been brought up again. And now there is a reward for Morcillo and Taufik, whose last two seasons in Juvenil A and Atleti C, by the way, have not been as good as the fans believe — not having a dedicated TV channel to watch academy matches has an impact, but we’ll talk about that another day.

What I mean is: if you bring Julio Díaz up and give him 90 minutes in Oviedo, then you are absolutely obliged to give him league minutes again. I’m not talking about just one more match, but about him playing in almost all of those remaining between now and the end of the season. There are 8 league games left, so he should appear in at least 6 of them. All the home games included. And if he is not going to play with the first team, then he should train and play with the reserve team so as not to weaken either side. The same goes for the other players I mentioned.

Mateu Alemany’s message about the academy and youth football is not only clear, he has also made it plain in numerous television appearances and, since his arrival, the number of players called up has grown considerably. But the commitment has to be real. Debuts must be the first stone in a long journey that, hopefully, the boys will get to enjoy. And there is talent to be developed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.