"We will approach it with great desire and ambition" - Barcelona star speaks out ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics
Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi has spoken about Spain's desire to win gold at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The Games commence on Friday (July 26) with the grand opening ceremony but football matches in Paris will start from Wednesday (July 24).
Spain won gold in football at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, when they beat Poland 3-2 in the final. Since then, they have featured on the podium twice in the event — losing finals to Cameroon in 2000 and Brazil in 2020.
Cubarsi will be among a host of highly-rated Spanish footballers traveling to Paris with hopes of securing a gold. It is worth mentioning that football at the Olympics is mostly an U23 event, with each team allowed to pick three overage players.
Cubarsi missed the cut for Spain's 2024 UEFA Euro-winning squad after an impressive season at Barcelona, where he made 19 La Liga appearances as his team finished second. His focus will now entirely be on the Games ahead, with Spain set to play Uzbekistan in a Group C match on Tuesday.
Speaking in a recent interview, the 17-year-old defender told MARCA (via BarcaUniversal):
"We are very excited and preparing for the first match in a long time. We are excited because it can be a great tournament and we will approach it with great desire and ambition. We always aim for the maximum, we are Spain and we always have to do that, if we compete and play well we will have a great tournament."
He added:
"We followed the European Cup, which was a source of pride for all Spaniards. We have a great desire to try to achieve the double, which will be something historic."
Spain, of course, were crowned the UEFA Euro 2024 champions after beating England 2-1 in the final earlier this month.
Olympics-bound Barcelona star pleased with his progress in last 12 months
Pau Cubarsi has come a long way in the last 12 months. He had a breakthrough campaign under Xavi Hernandez, featuring in every single league game in the second half of the 2023-24 season.
Even the teenager is surprised by how far he has come since this time last year, when he was yet to make his senior Barcelona debut. In the aforementioned interview, the Girona youth academy product was quoted as saying:
"A year ago I honestly couldn’t have imagined being here."
Cubarsi may find it tough to find playing time under Ronald Koeman next season, with Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Inigo Martinez all competing for a starting berth. He will, however, hope he can start in Santi Denia's Olympics team, where he will be joined by his team Barca teammates Fermin Lopez and centre-back Eric Garcia.