Barcelona Names 17 Year Old Teenage Sensation in UEFA Champions League Squad

• The UEFA Champions League group stage is set to kick off after the current international break
• Clubs have begun to roll out lists of players who will represent them in the competition
• Barcelona have named a young sensation on the club’s UCL squad list

Following the conclusion of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco last Thursday, participating teams have begun to roll out their lists of players that will represent them in the competition.

Barcelona recently procured the signatures of a few new signings off the back of some impressive financial manoeuvres. They have released their squad list for this season’s UCL group stage.

On the list released by the club on its official website, which was led by new signings Joao Felix and defender Joao Cancelo, the name of young American goalkeeper Diego Kochen appears to have captured the attention of many.

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Diego Kochen in Barca UCL squad

The 17-year-old goalkeeper, who earned his spot in the first team after the departure of Spanish U-21 goalkeeper Arnau Tenas to Paris Saint-Germain, has left a strong impression on the goalkeeping coaches at the La Liga champions. As a result, he has been fully integrated into the first team setup at the Catalan club.

This promising young talent, a US Under-17 team member, also holds eligibility to represent Peru and Venezuela. He is widely recognized as one of the brightest prospects in American soccer.

According to reports from Goal, he was recently nominated for the 2022 US Soccer Young Player of the Year award thanks to his outstanding performances for the national Under-17 squad.

Despite having the dependable Marc Andre ter Stegen as their primary goalkeeper, Barcelona’s hierarchy must be pleased with the depth of talent in their goalkeeping department.

Barcelona 2023/24 UCL squad list

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The Catalan club have been placed in Group H along with FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Royal Antwerp. They named a squad which included:

1. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

2. Joâo Cancelo

3. Alejandro Balde

4. Ronald Araujo

5. Iñigo Martínez

6. Gavi

7. Ferran Torres

8. Pedri

9. Robert Lewandowski

11. Raphinha

13. Iñaki Peña

14. Joâo Félix

15. Andreas Christensen

17. Marcos Alonso

18. Oriol Romeu

20. Sergi Roberto

21. Frenkie de Jong

22. Ilkay Gündoğan

23. Jules Kounde

26. Ander Astralaga

27. Lamine Yamal

29. Ángel Alarcón

30. Marc Casadó

31. Diego Kochen

32. Fermín López

33. Pau Cubarsí

34. Aleix Garrido

Barcelona start their campaign against Belgian club Royal Antwerp at their new home in Montjuic.

Barcelona claim La Liga is 'rigged'

In another report, Sports Brief stated that Barcelona are accusing Real Madrid of being favoured by referees to win the 2023/24 La Liga trophy, only four matchdays into the new campaign.

The Catalan giants are unhappy with most of the refereeing decisions that have taken place so far this season, claiming that match officials are favouring Real Madrid.