Barça, Barça, Barça at the Minestadi

The young fans were the stars of the traditional open door training session carried out by FC Barcelona. 10,049 fans turned up at the Miniestadi to enjoy the workout from the stands at the Miniestadi as Luis Enrique’s squad prepared for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey game against city rivals Espanyol. The players were welcomed out on to the field by fans waving Barça flags excitedly, eager to see their heroes up close.

The squad divided up into two groups, allowing fans at both ends of the stadium a good view of the first team’s array of warm up exercises. The movements of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez, as well as those of captain Andrés Iniesta, were all followed most closely by the crowd.

The fans cheered every goal in the squad’s training match and were rewarded at the end of the session when the players dedicated time to having their photographs taken with the disabled fans who were positioned pitch side during the workout. The squad also signed autographs and kicked footballs into the crowd for some lucky fans to take home as a souvenir of a festive day that brought the youngsters closer still to the FC Barcelona first team.