Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, who is only 17 years and 62 days old, made history on October 6, 2021. He made his debut in the semi-finals of Spain's UEFA Nations League against Italy, making him the youngest player in the history of the Spanish national team. When Luis Enrique decided to recruit the youngster, everyone was surprised. But Garvey lived up to the manager's expectations, having played well and solidly in the 83 minutes of his debut to help the Matadors beat Italy 2-1.
Prior to this, the midfielder had only 7 official appearances in the Barcelona first team, but Enrique saw his potential to shock the world. Although he is relatively young and thin, his innate sense of delicacy and ball makes up for his lack of experience and body shape.
Half of Garvey's super high ball quotient comes from talent, and the other half comes from learning. The player, who was born in the province of Seville, has always excelled among his peers, and in his upbringing, he has even been nicknamed the star player "Big Empty Wing" in the comic strip "Football Boy". He also entered the Real Betis Academy with his talent and traveled to Catalonia at the age of 11 to join Barca's prestigious La Masia Academy. There, Garvey often played with older players, and he was always able to maintain his style and constantly learn how to use his talents most efficiently.
It also laid the groundwork for him to advance into higher leagues. On 21 February 2021, 16 years and 200 days old, Garvey made his debut for Barcelona B and played against a mature adult for the first time. On August 29 of the same year, then-head coach Ronald Koeman made his first-team debut against Getafe, who was only 17 years and 25 days old.
It was as if he had been born in La Liga and looked like he had been playing for the Barca first team for many years. In the 2021/22 season, Garvey made a total of 35 appearances, ranking fifth in the number of appearances of the barca team. He made second appearances under Koeman and Xavi after Sergio Busquets, Marc-André ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong and Gerard Piqué. It also highlights the importance the club attaches to the young talent.
Garvey is able to play in all three positions in the midfield and even play as a left winger, which is one of the reasons why he occupies an important position in the team. Whether starting or coming off the bench, he will give it his all, and despite his short stature, it is also conducive to getting out of the defense and breaking through the defensive line to send a key pass for his teammates.
Along with Pedri, Nico González, Eric García, Sergi o Dest and Ansu Fati, Garvey is a key player in the current Barcelona youth storm. With young talent like Garvey, we have reason to believe that Barca's future is bright.
About La Liga
The Spanish professional football league LaLiga (La Liga) is a global, innovative and socially responsible sports league, as well as a leader in the field of leisure and entertainment. The league organizes the Spanish professional football leagues , La Liga and La Liga , with 20 La Liga clubs and 22 La Liga clubs , affecting more than 2.8 billion people worldwide in the 2018/19 season. Headquartered in Madrid, La Liga has 11 permanent offices and 46 foreign representatives in 55 countries and territories around the world. In 2014, La Liga opened an office in Shanghai, China. In 2020, La Liga formed a joint venture with Mediapro and Xinying Sports, SFCM, dedicated to the commercialization of sponsorship and licensing. The league is actively involved in social activities through its fund LaLiga Genuine, and is the only professional football league in the world to have a league of intellectually disabled players.