Ronald Araujo, now or never

Except for a capital surprise, Ronald araujo (surname without accent, according to the official website of Barça) will start this Sunday in a match against him Seville (9:00 p.m.) after the expulsion of Lenglet in Balaídos. Born 20 years ago in Rivera, precisely in the border between Uruguay and Brazil, the central was a bet of Pep Segura, Eric Abidal and José Mari Bakero (there is only the third in the club), who saw potential despite the fact that he was a stranger who played in an anonymous club, the Boston River, which had come from Rentistas. There he had overcome a childhood frustration. He Peñarol He rejected him in a test in which he played, paradoxically, as a forward. Finally, he returned to make the way from Rivera to Montevideo, and yes to start his sports career.

Araujo, 1.91 meters, came to Barça for 1.7 million euros plus 3.5 in variables. From very early on, its evolution attracted more attention than that of Jean-Clair Todibo. With more passion to learn tactical concepts and succeed, he already stabilized in the first team at the end of last year. Koeman has not put any problem in its continuity and already in preseason he tested it with Pique in the match against Girona .. In Vigo, He has already demonstrated the characteristic that best defines him. It is not adorned, it is sober and to the point in its thing.

Very powerful physically, Araujo has not lavished himself on too many interviews. During the confinement, and thanks to a telematic chat that he kept in Barça TV with Ansu Fati and Álex Collado, we discovered that she was starting to do her first steps in the kitchen (“carrot cake”) and that He is a fan of the PlayStation and action movies. Physically powerful, a quality that was not sensed in his early years in football, Araujo has a challenge this Sunday against Sevilla. If he is able to demonstrate the qualities that he has already taught in training, he can start to make a serious dent in Barça's plans.

Araujo knows that he is facing a unique opportunity. With Todibo on the exit ramp, Umtiti With the poster of transferable and with physical problems, and without more substitute centrals in the squad, football has given him a great opportunity that, on the other hand, he has won. Sevilla is a serious test for a central defender who listens carefully to the advice of Piqué and, above all, of Koeman, with whom he curiously shares a name. The technicians work so that Araujo improves his speed to cover all the meters that a Barça defender has at his back; also in the ball exit. He likes his personality and his predisposing for work. This is a good opportunity. And he wants revenge. Last year he barely played 14 minutes in his debut against Sevilla because he was sent off in an action that also ended with Dembélé on the street for telling the referee that he was “very bad” … This time he hopes the story will change.