Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal receive their jersey numbers
The two summer signings are now officially part of the team and could debut Wednesday versus Espanyol in the Copa del Rey
It may not have been a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, but FC Barcelona's double acquisition of Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal last summer sure feels like it. Now, six seemingly interminable months later, the pair are set to officially become part of the squad. With Turan and Vidal training regularly but unable to play in games due to the now infamous FIFA sanction, the two were afforded plenty of time to ponder the critical issue of which numbers they would wear on their shirts this season.
After months of deep speculation, the verdict is finally in — Turan will not wear the number 10 (umm, it's kind of taken) as he did with Atlético Madrid and, before that, with Galatasaray. He will instead inherit the number 7, previously worn by former blaugrana forward Pedro RodrÃguez. Vidal, for his part, will sport the number 22, the same number he had in Sevilla last season, and which was formerly splayed across the back of Dani Alves. At the beginning of this season, Alves took over number 6, which was freed up when midfield legend Xavi Hernández left Barcelona for Qatar at the end of last season.
With all of that out of the way now, Turan and Vidal can finally focus on playing football. And they could see their first minutes of the season at Camp Nou on Wednesday night when FC Barcelona face Espanyol in the first leg of the Copa del Rey last 16. Kick-off is set for 8.30pm CET.
from News at FCB http://ift.tt/1NZTG4i
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