From LA Galaxy to LaLiga: what can Barcelona expect from new right-back Julián Araujo?
LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney discusses the Mexican-American's qualities, his link-up with Rafa Márquez at Barcelona and what the move means for Major League Soccer
Julián Araujo is a Barcelona player at last. The LaLiga leaders’ move to sign the Mexican-American right-back from LA Galaxy fell through due to a late hitch on deadline day as a fault on the computer system saw the documentation arrive 18 seconds too late. But after a nervous wait of over two weeks, the 21-year-old has now finally been given permission to join the Blaugrana on a three-and-a-half year deal.
Araujo, who was born in Lompoc, California to Mexican parents and came through the youth system at LA Galaxy, will link up with Barça Atlètic (the club’s youth side) for the rest of the season. And all being well, Julián (affectionately known as Jules) will be promoted to the first time in the summer.
Without a recognised right-back in their squad this season, Barcelona have mostly been playing with central defenders Jules Koundé and Ronald Araújo in that role. Curiously, the Catalan club have now signed a specialist right-back whose name is a mixture of the two: Jules Araujo.
But what can Barça and their fans expect from the club’s new signing?
LA Galaxy’s head coach Greg Vanney, who has worked with the player for the past two years, is highly qualified to assess Araujo’s qualities and also the 21-year-old’s transfer to Barcelona. I spoke to him on Friday evening.
“He is a phenomenal athlete,” Vanney said in a video conference set up by LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer. “He’s still young but he has some growing to do.
“He reminds me a little bit of a [young] Jordi Alba, who has loads of pace and speed, can get up and down the flank tirelessly. He’s competitive: he’s probably one of the most competitive players that I’ve been around, in terms of defensive competitiveness.
“He can run the entire line, get to the end line, he can play off the side line, again there are things he’s going to continue to grow at inside of their style of play and some things that he’ll have to to continue to learn obviously. But he’s a guy who’s very dynamic, getting himself into the attack, he’s going to add an extra number in terms of the amount of possession Barcelona typically has in games, a guy like Julian can then arrive into attacks and get himself into crossing positions, almost at will at time.”
Vanney recognises that there will be much to learn for the young defender, but believes the Mexican international (who had previously represented USA at youth level) has the potential to be success for Barça and in LaLiga.
“Nuance is something he will have to bring into his game,” Vanney said. “Depending on how the staff decides to use him: whether it’s inverted, or keeping him out on the flanks or using him in different ways. He’ll have to continue to grow in some of those capacities, but just in terms of sheer raw athletic ability and understanding, he’s in a very good starting point to take another step.”
Araujo will link up with compatriot Rafa Márquez, a Barcelona icon and Mexico’s greatest-ever defender, who is now the coach at Barça Atlètic.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Vanney said. “I think it’s one of the reasons that Jules is there, that someone like Rafa Márquez probably knows Jules quite well, being in the Mexican national team and being around it.
“And so I think it’s a great opportunity for Jules to learn from somone like him on the defensive side, but also on the footballing side, I think it will help him. I don’t know what his process and timeline might be, but it’s good for him to get over there now and start that process now, because he will have things he’ll need to learn, in order to make his way into the first team and become a real factor in the first team.
“But he certainly has some time to do that now: he won’t be in a rush and he won’t have that pressure to be starting tomorrow or to be thrown into a game somewhere, he’s going to have some time to be able to adapt and learn. From Rafa Márquez to the entire staff there, I think Jules is going to have a great environment to learn the game and to continue to grow as a player.”
Meanwhile, Araujo’s transfer also represents a success for Major League Soccer as another player developed in the league moves to a top European club.
“It is [a massive thing] because Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the world and if a player can go from MLS to Barcelona, they can go to any club in the world,” the former USMNT defender said.
“Hopefully Jules can make his way and have some impact within the first-team environment, that’s a huge statement for our league, for our team and our process here in LA: it makes a statement for young players who are considering MLS as a pathway to the biggest clubs in the world.”
And he added: “In order for leagues to be great, you have to be able to not just consume players, but you also have to be able to transfer players and be inside of that market, and that’s a big step forward for MLS.”