Full name Sergi Roberto Carnicer 2001–2005 Santes Creus Weight 71 kg Number 20 Height 1.77 m | Playing position Role Footballer Place of birth Reus, Spain Name Sergi Roberto Career start 2009 | |
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Date of birth (1992-02-07) 7 February 1992 (age 23) Current team FC Barcelona (#20 / Midfielder) Similar People Marc Bartra, Sergio Busquets, Munir El Haddadi, Rafinha, Jordi Alba Profiles | ||
Sergi Roberto 2018/2019 - Barcelona - Defensive Skills | HD
Sergi Roberto Carnicer ([ˈsɛɾʒi ruˈβɛɾtu], born 7 February 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for FC Barcelona. Mainly a central midfielder, he can also operate as a defensive midfielder, full-back or winger.
Contents
- Sergi Roberto 20182019 Barcelona Defensive Skills HD
- Club career
- International career
- Club
- International goals
- International
- Individual
- References
Club career
Born in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Roberto began playing football with local UE Barri Santes Creus at the age of 8, arriving in FC Barcelona's youth academy six years later from neighbours Gimnàstic de Tarragona. In the 2009–10 season, at only 17, he first appeared with Barça's reserves, contributing with 22 games as the team returned to the second division after 11 years.
On 10 November 2010, Roberto made his debut for the first team, playing the second half of a 5–1 home win against AD Ceuta for the campaign's Copa del Rey (7–1 on aggregate). On 27 April of the following year he made his first UEFA Champions League appearance, coming on as a substitute for David Villa in the last minute of a 2–0 away win against Real Madrid, for the competition semifinals' first leg.
Roberto first appeared in La Liga on 21 May 2011, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 win at Málaga CF in the season's last round. His first start for the main squad came on 6 December of that year, against FC BATE Borisov in the Champions League group stage, as manager Pep Guardiola rested all his starters for the upcoming El Clásico: in the 35th minute, he opened the scoring in an eventual 4–0 home win.
In only his third official appearance for Barcelona's first team, on 12 January 2012, Roberto scored his second goal, helping the visitors come from behind to win it 2–1 against CA Osasuna in the domestic cup (6–1 on aggregate). On 16 December 2014, also in that competition, he netted his third, contributing to an 8–1 demolition of SD Huesca at the Camp Nou.
In the 2015–16 season, after being reconverted by manager Luis Enrique and merely months after nearly being deemed surplus to requirements, Roberto appeared as a right-back in several games. In two consecutive games against Athletic Bilbao in January 2016, one for the league and another for the Spanish Cup, he featured on the other flank in the place of injured Jordi Alba, going on to play in as many as seven different positions.
On 20 August 2016, Roberto started as a right-back and provided two assists in a 6–2 home victory against Real Betis in the opening match of the campaign. On 24 September, from the same position, he again contributed with two assists in a 5–0 away rout of Sporting de Gijón.
On 8 March 2017, Roberto scored the final goal for Barcelona in the 95th minute as part of a 6–1 home victory against Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16, making Barcelona the first club to overcome a four-goal deficit in the competition.
International career
In October 2009, shortly after making his Barcelona B debuts, Sergi Roberto was called by the Spanish under-17 team for the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria. On 5 November, before being substituted by Javier Espinosa in the 88th minute, he scored a hat-trick against Burkina Faso at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano. Spain eventually finished third in the tournament, with him and Atlético Madrid's Borja González accounting for eight of the team's total goals.
Roberto made his debut for the under-21 side on 5 September 2011, playing the last four minutes of the 2–0 win in Lugo over Georgia for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers. He received his first call up to the senior squad in March 2016, for friendlies against Romania and Italy. His debut took place in the former match on the 27th, as he started in a 0–0 draw in Cluj-Napoca.