Barcelona product Bojan Krkic relishes his Montreal 'family' and Thierry Henry reunion
- by Scott French @ScottJFrench, Jan 29, 2020
Krkic, 29, a La Masia product, was promoted to FC Barcelona's first team the summer of 2007, when Henry joined the club following eight spectacular campaigns at Arsenal.
“My first year in Barcelona was his first season in Barcelona,” Krkic said during his media session this month at the MLS Media and Marketing Tour at Banc of California Stadium. “Everyday was like a dream for me.”
Krkic's rise in the game was better than a dream. A legend at the Catalan club's academy, he was instrumental in leading Spain to titles at the 2007 UEFA U-17 Championship and the 2011 UEFA U-21 Championship, won the Bronze Ball as third-best player at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, broke Lionel Messi's record as the youngest player to feature for Barcelona's first team, and had scored 41 goals in 163 appearances for the club before he turned 21.
Bojan Krkic's Club Career
Year Club
Games/Goals/Assists*
2019- Montreal Impact 8/3
2017-18 Alaves+ 13/0/0
2017 Mainz 05+
11/1/1
2014-19 Stoke City 74/15/2
2013-14 Ajax+ 24/4/4
2012-13 Milan+
19/3/2
2011-13 Roma 33/7/1
2007-11 Barcelona 104/26/12
* League play. + On
loan.
He's ridden a roller-coaster since, bouncing from Roma to AC Milan back to Barcelona and onto Ajax -- a couple of those on loan deals -- before a five-year stint at Stoke City that included loans to Mainz and Alaves. He debuted with Spain's national team at 18 and hasn't had a second cap.
Krkic, whose father, with the same name, was a midfielder at OFK Belgrade, has been hampered by injuries and inconsistent form, but he's not the least bit bitter about how things have played out.
“All the bad things is not a bad thing,” he said. “It's helping you to do big steps, to grow. And yeah, I've learned a lot from all the mistakes that I did and I'm really happy to live [those] mistakes, because now I'm who I am.”
He signed with the Impact last summer, netted his first goal in 11 months two and half months later, and wrapped the MLS season with goals as Montreal closed with a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United FC and a 3-0 romp over the New York Red Bulls. More vital, he found family.
“It was difficult for me, because I came after four months without playing and I came straight to playing games,” he said. “But from the first day, I feel good on the pitch; from the first day, I feel good in the dressing room with my teammates.
“It's important to have a family on the dressing room. You spend most of the time in the dressing room with your teammates than in your home, so for me it was important to arrive in Montreal, and everyone there was helping me on the pitch and off the pitch.”
He hopes to reward that aid this season as the Impact seeks to challenge in the Eastern Conference after missing the playoffs the past three seasons. Henry, among the finest players of his generation -- of any generation, really -- returns to MLS as a head coach after closing his playing career with five seasons with the Red Bulls.
It's Henry's second stint as a head coach, following a tough 20-game run in 2018-19 with AS Monaco. Krkic says that the Impact “can learn a lot” from the Frenchman.
“It's really nice to have him as a coach,” Krkic said. “For me, it's still strange, because I played with him for [three] years. ... It's difficult to say when you play with someone [that you could see them becoming a coach], but Thierry was one of them that always you have respect for him, for who is Thierry as a player.
“For me, as a young player when I started with him, I tried to always be with him in the dressing room, to listen to what he's saying. It's good now to have him as a coach.”
Thank you Scott, for another interview with a player, I almost forgot that's he's playing in the MLS.
We have a player here who ran the gamut of LaMasia. He has a WEALTH of INFORMATION he could talk about especially that could benefit our YOUTH coaches, college and MLS players alike.
What I would have liked to have seen was more indepth questions concerning LaMasia. For example what are some of the philosophies they follow about training and developing young players at different age levels. What do they spend most of their time or emphasize in training. What kind of positional games do the youth work and how is it applied in game format. What do they emphasize when taking a player on 1v1. What type of shooting drills do they practice, what do they emphasize upon receiving the ball, what are some tips on off the ball movement, how do you postion yourself and what are some of steps to keep in mind.
What did Bojan learn from Guardiola when he played for Barcelona; what were some of underlying concepts of Tiki-Taka and what was Guardiola's vision what did he learn from Messi, and other greats...What were some interesting anecdotes he could talk about while playing for Barcelona. Or what did he learn playing for Ajax and what differences were there between Dutch and Spanish and English players as far as style, and manner of play. Or how has he grow as a player ,tactically...And how would he coach the youth and what would he emphasize teaching the youth, tactically(when) and how would he blend the technical with positional game.
This is Bojan's second year and we've yet to find one good indepth interview anywhere about a player who has experienced LaMasia, a great institute for youth development, that could be of benefit our soccer....
Frank S. makes a good point. Player interviews are mostly mundane. They fail to capture the essence of training structures and how they help a player perform in real game time. it would be more interesting to get a player's perspective on the physical, mental, and tactical training techniques in club environment.
Frank S. makes a good point. Player interviews are mostly mundane. They fail to capture the essence of training structures and how they help a player perform in real game time. it would be more interesting to get a player's perspective on the physical, mental, and tactical training techniques in club environment.
Frank S. makes a good point. Player interviews are mostly mundane. They fail to capture the essence of training structures and how they help a player perform in real game time. it would be more interesting to get a player's perspective on the physical, mental, and tactical training techniques in club environment.
another great read scott, lets get you into the OC Register staff. Your HS rival from La Quinta, CC.