Latest news with #Garcia
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Report – 19-year-old La Masia talent set to be Barcelona's third-choice goalkeeper next season
With FC Barcelona securing the signing of Joan Garcia, it will set off a chain reaction in the goalkeeping department – a domino effect of necessary decisions, including some difficult ones. Garcia has signed with Barcelona until 2031 and will be installed as the first-choice goalkeeper in all likelihood, which puts incumbent Marc-Andre ter Stegen in a difficult position. Advertisement The Blaugrana, for their part, are prepared to offload the German international with Wojciech Szczesny, renewal pending, expected to take up the second-choice role. Diego Kochen to be the third choice? Inaki Pena is also on his way out, in search of regular game-time, having fallen out of favour this season. As such, SPORT reports that the responsibility of being the third-choice goalkeeper in the Barcelona first team is expected to fall on Diego Kochen. Though the American did not have a standout season with Barça Atletic, the Blaugrana still consider him a strong long-term prospect. Kochen to be Garcia, Szczesny's understudy. (Photo by) Advertisement Kochen featured 16 times for the reserve team this term, conceding 26 goals in the process as they ended up getting relegated from the RFEF Primera Division. At 19, though, the American talent is still developing. While a loan is not completely ruled out, he is expected to serve as the third-choice keeper this season. If Kochen progresses and proves reliable, he could move up to the second-choice role next year once Szczesny's contract expires. The teenage shot-stopper's contract with Barcelona runs until 2028 and will hope to make an impression on Hansi Flick & co. so as to earn a promotion next year. Meanwhile, Aron Yaakobishvili is likely to take over the mantle of the starting goalkeeper for Barça Atletic with Ander Astralaga expected to leave on loan.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Barcelona present new signing Joan Garcia: First words and images
On Friday, Barcelona presented Joan Garcia as their first signing of the summer. The Blaugrana activated his €25m release clause last week, and on Wednesday, Barcelona announced Garcia as their first signing of the summer. Now former club Espanyol also announced the deal, with a cold one-line statement. Many Pericos feel that they have been betrayed by Garcia, who came through the club's academy. Garcia released a statement bidding farewell to Espanyol, but did not ask for understanding, calling it a decision that took into account the best for the club, his career and his family. Joan Garcia aiming for plenty of victories Garcia will certainly be set for a hostile welcome at the RCDE Stadium on his next visit. In stark contrast to his reception at Camp Nou. He told the media he was happy to be at Barcelona. Advertisement 'I'm very happy; I've been looking forward to this day. Now I have to keep growing as a goalkeeper, win a lot, and achieve great things, which is why I came here. When there's such a young team with such good players, it's exciting. I know many of them and I'm eager to get started.' 'I define myself as a brave goalkeeper' – Joan Garcia Image via FC Barcelona Garcia will be competing with Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the number one spot, the current captain. Although numerous reports say that Garcia has been promised a starting role under Hansi Flick. 'I define myself as a brave goalkeeper, who likes to help the team, quick in goal, with reflexes, and who tries to contribute in the air.' He was excited to get started, with Barcelona returning to their home at Camp Nou in September. 'I've seen the model of the Spotify Camp Nou and it's impressive. I'm really looking forward to play in it for the first time. I'm sure you'll see a lot of victories.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Joan Garcia's first words as a Barcelona player – ‘I was really looking forward to this day'
Joan Garcia's first words as a Barcelona player – 'I was really looking forward to this day' Joan Garcia has spoken for the first time as a new FC Barcelona player, after officially signing his contract with the club today, which runs until 2031. Earlier in the day, Barcelona president Joan Laporta welcomed the goalkeeper to the club offices for the official signing of his contract. Advertisement The private ceremony was attended by Garcia's close family members and his agents, club vice-president Rafa Yuste, director Deco, and other members of the sporting committee like Bojan, Joan Soler, and Enric Masip. Garcia speaks as a Barcelona player The former Espanyol academy graduate, signed by Barcelona after triggering his €25 million release clause, shared his excitement about this new professional chapter at the age of 24. 'I am very happy. I was really looking forward to this day, and it is finally here,' he said. 'My goal is to keep growing as a goalkeeper and to win a lot, to achieve great things with the team – that is why I came here,' he added. Talking about the team and the project being led by manager Hansi Flick, Garcia noted: Advertisement 'It's a very exciting project, with a great team and very young players, whom I already know. I'm really looking forward to getting started and being with them.' Asked to describe himself as a professional, Garcia was clear about his strengths. 'I consider myself a brave goalkeeper, quick with reflexes, and someone who tries to contribute in the air,' he explained. Standing next to the model of the new Spotify Camp Nou, he shared his desire to play there. 'It's very special to see the model of the Spotify Camp Nou; it's impressive. I'm looking forward to playing there, and I'm sure we'll achieve many victories at the stadium,' he said. Source: FC Barcelona
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Watch: Joan Garcia signs Barcelona contract with president Laporta
After his acquisition was officially confirmed earlier this week, FC Barcelona new signing Joan Garcia signed his contract with the club earlier today along with president Joan Laporta. The 24-year-old was signed from RCD Espanyol in a deal worth €25 million – his release clause amount, with the goalkeeper agreeing a six-year deal until 2031. Advertisement With the deal having been closed already, Garcia arrived at the club offices today along with his family for his official contract signing and presentation in a low-key ceremony. Apart from club president Laporta, other high-ranking officials like vice-president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco were also present at the ceremony. The Spanish shot-stopper was all smiles as he signed the dotted line and embraced Laporta and Yuste. Once the signing was done, Garcia stepped out and signed some autographs for the fans who were waiting in a warm gesture. One of the best goalkeepers in La Liga this season, the 24-year-old is expected to take over the mantle of the No. 1 at Barcelona under Hansi Flick, with the club hoping to finalise the departure of current captain and first-choice custodian Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Politico
a day ago
- Politics
- Politico
Robert Garcia is a young Democrat with an old-style approach to moving up the House ladder
Rep. Robert Garcia wants to usher in a new era for Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. But don't ask the 47-year-old Californian if he's seeking 'generational change.' Garcia has instead fashioned his candidacy for his party's top leadership post on the panel around his experience as a big-city mayor and contributions on the Oversight panel, sidestepping the age and seniority questions that have roiled the Democratic Party. That careful approach — calibrated to appeal widely inside a House Democratic Caucus whose members are both eager to promote fresh faces and wary of sticking fingers in the eyes of party elders — has allowed Garcia, only in his second term, to emerge as the prohibitive favorite in the closely watched internal contest to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly. Garcia has emerged as a middle-ground choice ahead of next week's caucus election for Oversight ranking member that is putting two older lawmakers — Reps. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, 70, and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, 76 — against two younger Democrats: Garcia and 44-year-old Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas. His careful pitch was on display in a recent interview, when he sought to thread a needle between a Democratic base demanding an aggressive confrontation with President Donald Trump and the more delicate sensibilities of fellow House Democrats, whose votes he is courting. 'The seniority system in Congress is not going to go away,' Garcia said, playing down the notion that the race is a proxy battle in a larger war over the future of the Democratic Party. 'There's an opportunity here to expand who's at that table, and I bring a different kind of experience. I may not have the most time served in Congress, but I certainly would put my experience up against anybody's.' His approach was no doubt informed by the last election for Democratic leadership of the Oversight panel, where Connolly was elected at age 74 last year over 35-year-old progressive stalwart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Connolly's sudden illness and death from esophageal cancer in May only served to rekindle the quiet but urgent conversation about whether Democrats need to promote younger leaders. Crockett has been more outspoken in presenting herself as the face of that younger, more confrontational generation. She's built a reputation as a partisan brawler in viral committee-room exchanges and cable-TV appearances. She has raised eyebrows inside the caucus, for instance, by openly discussing pursuing a Trump impeachment should Democrats retake the majority next year. 'For me, it starts with: How do we motivate the base? I think that I am the singular candidate that can really motivate and excite the base,' she told reporters last week leaving a closed-door candidate meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. Committee leadership contests, however, tend to center on inside-the-building glad-handing than appeals to voters at large, and that is the campaign Garcia has undertaken. After backing Ocasio-Cortez for the Oversight job last Congress, Garcia has taken pains to avoid the pitfalls she faced. He has personally met with all but a handful of the 214 sitting House Democrats, according to a person granted anonymity to describe his strategy. In the interview, the former mayor of Long Beach cast himself less as an anti-Trump attack dog and more as a consensus-builder. He shied away from talk of impeaching Trump, calling it 'premature' without buy-in from other Democrats, and emphasized that the committee would do more than bulldog the Trump administration under a Democratic majority. That has been welcome to members who have been put off by some of Crockett's comments, including her willingness to entertain impeachment. 'You can't get out ahead of your skis if you're weighing something as serious as this, that requires real buy-in from battleground members and safe-seat members,' said one battleground Democrat who was granted anonymity to react candidly. There are signs the more prudent approach is paying off. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has already endorsed Garcia, the only Latino member running for the job, while other powerful groups including the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus and New Democrat Coalition appear unlikely to endorse. He's also expected to receive strong support from the 43-member delegation of California Democrats — a historically formidable bloc — and he's earned plaudits from colleagues who appreciate the millions of dollars he's raised for the party and candidates as they gear up for an expensive fight to retake the House. 'I really value the people who pay their dues early and on time and who give to other people,' said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a DCCC national finance co-chair who is supporting Garcia. Garcia isn't entirely playing the inside game by any means. He has occasionally sought to bait his Republican colleagues on the Oversight panel and at times has tested what kind of rhetoric crosses the line. At a hearing of an Oversight subcommittee set up to work alongside Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative, Garcia announced he would display a 'dick pic.' He proceeded to unveil a headshot of Musk, after reminding colleagues how Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — the well-known conservative provocateur who chairs the subpanel — had shown nude photos of presidential son Hunter Biden at a previous committee meeting. Garcia is also among a handful of Democrats — alongside California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver and California Sen. Alex Padilla — who have found themselves in federal law enforcement crosshairs under Trump: In February, a prosecutor appointed by Trump threatened to investigate him after he openly suggested that the public wants Democrats to 'bring actual weapons to this bar fight' for democracy. Garcia denied making any actual threat and said he would not be intimidated. 'I'm not afraid of Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, or Donald Trump, or other folks that are trying to cause harm,' he said in the interview — a sentiment that could appeal to Democrats, like Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont, who want younger, more aggressive leaders to step up. 'We as a caucus need to have structures in place to allow young talent to be cultivated whether it is members who have only been here a few years,' said Balint. 'This is what our voters want, so let's do something about it.'
