Jordi Alba and Aleix Vidal: Club and international teammates 13 years later

Some of the oldest theories in football have been shattered by Jordi Alba and Aleix Vidal. Both formed part of the generation of 1989 coming through at Barcelona, but both saw their time at the club cut short because of a question of centimetres. Back then they were deemed too short to make an impact in the football world. Vidal left first; Alba soon followed. Both were part of the Infantil B side in the 2001-02 season, forming an attacking trio with Victor Rodriguez (Elche) who also went on to make the Primera Division. 

Vidal was only at Barça for a year. After being discarded he went to Cambrils, then to Nastic and then spent a year at Real Madrid. He's since had an up-and-down career, but 14 years later has returned to the Blaugrana to link up with Alba again, while the two are now international teammates with Spain as well. "We both had to leave Barça because of our height," Vidal remembers, who played as a wide man, with Alba in the No.10 role and Victor Rodriguez on the other wing. The coach was Xavi Llorens, who is now in charge of the women's side at Barça. He never had a great deal of faith in Vidal, to the point that he left him out of squad for the highly thought of youth tournament Brunete. 

Of that trident, Aleix Vidal grew the most, now registering at a height of 1.76m, while Alba and Victor are both around 1.70m. But away from that, the three have demonstrated with the passing of years that to be tall is not always enough in football. Talent is what matters. The generation of 1989 also included professionals such as Victor Ruiz (Villarreal) and Ruben Miño (Mallorca). 

Jordi Alba and Aleix Vidal lost touch when the latter had to go off in search of making a living. They got back in contact when Vidal made it to the Primera Division. Jordi had already signed for Barça, with Aleix taking the leap with Almeria. It took just a few hours at Spain's Las Rozas base to recover the 'feeling' of when they played together at Infantil B level. SPORT asked them for some photos and they quickly agreed. "I got on well with everyone in that team, I always get on well with people," Aleix explained after naturally fitting in with the Spain squad. For a player who has had 13 teams in football, there can't be many people who would intimidate him. 

Vidal's easy-manner has seen him adapt to Vicente Del Bosque's squad straight away, so Alba has not needed to help his friend out. Aleix is already like a fish in water at the Ciudad del Futbol. After passing through UEFA's anti-doping control, he looked like a veteran of the squad as he met Jordi Alba after his press conference. 

Shortly before, Alba had spoke glowingly of Aleix: "His signing is great news for Barcelona. He's a player for the present and for the future. He words hard and has the ability to improve a lot with out play. He will be an important part of the team." Alba's appearance coincided with Dani Alves's contract renewal, with the news delighting Alba. The left-back said the Brazilian is "one of the most professional players I've met in my career. He will help us a lot." 

As for Aleix, he was also happy to see Alves continue at the club, providing competition on the right side. As he said at his presentation: "If [Alves] stays I will be really happy, I know what I am capable of and the competition will be healthy."