Since the summer of 2008, Guardiola has brought in players from the reserve team to cover positions all over the park, from keepers to strikers. Miño, Montoya, Bartra, Fontàs, Sergio Gomez, Muniesa, Jonathan dos Santos, Thiago Alcántara, Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto, Soriano and Nolito are the players currently playing in Barca B who have already made their debuts under Guardiola, with four more who have left the club: Gay, Abraham Botía and Xavi Torres also having featured for the first team.

Sergio, the first

Pep Guardiola’s first gamble was Sergio Busquets, who made his debut at the Camp Nou against Racing Santander in the second game of the 08/09 season. Since then, and up until Saturday,17 reserve team players have played in the first team in an official match.

Sergi Roberto, the penultimate

Before Martin Montoya’s debut on Saturday in Palma, Reus midfielder Sergio Roberto was the last player from the B Team to make his first team debut, in the return leg of the first round of the Cup, in the Camp Nou, against Ceuta.

Well-deserved reward

Montoya's track record in the B Team is extraordinary. Until a few weeks ago he was the most used player under Luis Enrique. The suspension of Daniel Alves opened the way for his presence in the squad for the match in Mallorca. His debut, with the game already decided, was just reward for his excellent performances as a defender in the B Team, making him the 17th player from the reserves to debut for the first team.