Bojan Krkic believes that other talents at Barcelona were envious of him when he broke through in the reserve team in 2006. The young forward later got the opportunity to play in the first team under coach Frank Rijkaard in the 2007/08 season. With the knowledge he has now, it turned out to be the best season of his career.
Bojan retired earlier this year after spending a period at Vissel Kobe in Japan. The Spaniard never fulfilled his promise. Loan spells at AC Milan and Ajax were not very successful. Later, Bojan played for clubs like Stoke City and Montreal Impact. He previously spoke about experiencing panic attacks as a Barcelona talent, and now it appears there was also jealousy among his teammates.
The forward skipped several teams and joined Barcelona B in the 2006/07 season. However, not everyone was happy about his breakthrough. "There is a lot of competition in a football dressing room," Bojan tells The Athletic. "I was developing a lot and quickly, which naturally led to jealousy from others. I came in when the season was already underway and the team wasn't performing well. When a young player comes in and keeps scoring, teammates and competitors are not happy. They saw that I had the potential to get a chance."
Rijkaard
Bojan got his chance at the end of the season from Rijkaard. The forward praised the coach when he announced his retirement and had kind words for him now as well. "He was so important to me. He gave me the support I needed. Just by embracing me, I felt that he had my back. He was there for me, no matter the situation. I am an emotional person, and so is Frank."
Bojan also believes that the football world needs to change its approach to talent development. "We treat young players unfairly. We teach them that it's easy to play in the first team and that there's no point in being a substitute or playing in a reserve team. If you really want to gamble on a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old at a professional level, which makes no sense, then you shouldn't do it just because you want to give them a chance. You should do it because you see that the player can do something that no one else, even older players, can do."
