The first surprise that the players summoned by Ronald Koeman for the league premiere against Real Sociedad found was the change of the order of the drawers with the numbers, the disappearance of the silhouettes of each player in the lockers and the elimination of any trace of the number 10 in the locker room.
“And where is my photo?” was one of the comments that were heard, in a humorous tone, before the disappearance of the images of the players to identify the lockers. And it is that from now until August 31 the locker room lockers will be provisional: the club is still pending to close ups and downs, Therefore, until the first team squad is closed, the final lockers will not be installed, which will bear the player’s silhouette, as well as a reminder of the players who have worn that number.
The elimination of the box with the number 10 was also surprising, in a clear sign that no one in the squad will have the audacity to wear that number, at least this season.
And even the order of the drawers was substantially altered, without yet having a clear criterion, since it was clearly provisional. Thus, Sergio Busquets premiered the captaincy, changing to the side of Rey Manaj -the other drawer was empty as it was Pjanic’s-, while Memphis was placed between Iñaki Peña and Lenglet.
In other cases, it does seem that order will be maintained throughout the season, such as the cases of captains Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba, who completed a row, along with Antoine Griezmann, or Dest and Frenkie de Jong, who along with Pedri and Eric Garcia closed another row.
Obviously, the many absences due to injury -a total of five players are out-, together with the presence of up to seven players from the subsidiary, still open many unknowns about the final order of lockers in the Camp Nou dressing room.
It will not be until the weekend of September 18 or 19, when the team plays against Granada at the Estadi the match of the fifth day, or even a few days before, depending on whether Barcelona opens at home in the Champions League, when the players will be able to enjoy the final ticket offices and the silhouettes of their silkscreened portraits.
In any case, now it is time to hope that the same player who claimed his photo last Sunday, does not regret that day that they have placed the bad profile …