Martin Braithwaite was thrown into the fire from the first match, after he in the middle of February was presented as new Barcelona player.
Since the highly-publicized signature for the shift from Leganés has he been in the squad in all matches, also for the Champions League showdown against Napoli, he was not eligible to play.
In all, it’s been to three appearances in the blaugrana-shirt, and last he got almost the whole match against Real Sociadad and was then praised far and wide for its performance.
The encouraging streak stopped, however, abruptly, as coronavirussen got its roof in Spain, and it might look like something of an anticlimax for the dane, who at the same time that the league is quiet, can see the damaged profile and potential competitor for a startplads in the attack Luis Suaréz approaching a comeback.
Braithwaite, however, does not the situation so heavily. Rather on the contrary.
“It’s all about being positive, and this does just that I will be even better when I come back. I almost feel like I train harder than I would normally do, because I train even more intensely,” says Martin Braithwaite and adds:
“during the week, I don’t focus so much on that I must not overtræne, because I don’t need to be ready for the weekend, so now I can train through without being careful,” explains the dane who every day while he is at home in Madrid, like the other players are in contact with Barcelona’s physical trainer.
No one knows yet, when the players must show up on the træningsanlægget again. Martin Braithwaite, it is simply about to utilize the time as good as possible.
“I use ekstratiden to study, how my team plays. I can study our team even more in the details, and it will just make me a better football player. After the matches I can now put myself down and have a look at my teammates and then I look at how some of the best footballers through the ages have done to be so amazing. It is them, I’m looking at, and those I would like to learn from. I’m looking at the details, and why they were on a level many others do not reach.”
As mentioned, the dane apart from its indhop against Real Madrid was praised for his performance against Eibar in his debut and most recently against Real Sociedad, where he is in the media, among other things, was judged to be his team’s best player.
“The first month has been fantastic, I feel. I’ve had it really good. And all the battles I have been in, I have the game, so it has been a good start. And yes, I was also the Champions League team, although I have not had to play, so it is nice that the club believe in one, and it also helps to integrate a little faster,” says Martin Braithwaite, who see not its first three matches as a drømmestart.
“you are talking with one who dreams very big, and it has of course been a really good start, but I’m thinking really big, so for me to see I had hoped that I should check in my debut and score, but that is how it was not.”
“If it would have been a drømmestart, I should perhaps have made hat-trick in the three matches I’ve played. In each of them, I have the game. But it has been good, I think,” says Martin Braithwaite, who also welcomes life outside of the track in Barcelona after a month in the new club.
“Socially, I settled well into the squad. It is good and people have fun. I feel that everyone is talking fairly well together. I’m talking good of all and of course especially with the English – and French-speaking. It is very easy team to fall in. All is snaksalige, and I’ve only had good experiences in Spain with the two teams, I have been on.”
“There is a good team spirit here and the people are good to accept new people. Also, I think, it’s about how you are as a person. I’ve certainly never had any problem with that the fall to any places in the a squad,” said the dane.
Martin Braithwaite has scored 128 minutes in the Barcelona jersey.
