Zaragoza with seven ex-FC Barcelona youth players

Barça will face off against a Zaragoza side that have quite a few former FC Barcelona players in its ranks. At the beginning of the season the team from Aragon had four ex-Barça youth team players on their senior side, and during the January transfer window, they picked up three more: Rochina, Carmona and Rodri. Here’s an overview of the players:

Paco Montañés: His first season with Zaragoza, he’s become a permanent fixture in the team's starting line-ups. Playing on the left, he’s featured in all of the team’s league matches this season and he’s scored four goals. He made his debut for FC Barcelona against Sevilla (3-2), in a match played four days ahead of the Champions League final in Paris, in 2006.

Edu Oriol: Second season with Zaragoza, he’s featured for the team 19 times this season. He played a crucial role for the team last season when they nearly avoided relegation. He was a Blaugrana from 2009 to 2011, in that time he played 60 matches between the reserve B and reserve A teams.

Abraham Minero: This is the player’s second season with Zaragoza. He’s featured in 28 of the team’s 30 league matches this year, but he’ll miss tomorrow’s match due to suspension. Before he signed with Zaragoza he played for Barça B in the 2010/11 season. He featured 24 times for the reserve side.

Víctor Rodríguez: This is the player’s first season with Zaragoza and his first season in Primera. He was in Barça’s youth system for four years.

Rubén Rochina: This is the player’s first season with Zaragoza after his spell in the English Premier League. Rochina, who was part of the Barça B team that made it to Second Division, departed for England in 2011. The player made his way back to Spain during the January transfer window.

Adrià Carmona: This is his first season with Zaragoza and his first taste of Spain’s top flight. The midfielder played for FC Barcelona’s infantil and juvenil teams through 2010, at which point he signed for AC Milan. This season he was loaned out to Zaragoza.

‘Rodri’ Ríos: This is the player’s first season with Zaragoza and his third in Spain’s Primera division, his first two seasons in Spain’s top flight were with Sevilla. He signed for Barça B in the 2011/12 season, and he played 34 matches in the Blaugrana strip. Rodri was sent out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday through this January, and now he plies his trade at La Romareda.