Oran Goren was named in Barcelona's squad for Sunday's El Clasico against Real Madrid, a call-up that puts the 17-year-old into one of the biggest matches in world soccer. It also makes him the first Israeli player to be included in a squad for this fixture.
The selection comes after Goren trained on Friday and Saturday under Hansi Flick and had already spent time with the first team during preseason. He was also part of Barcelona's preparations for the Joan Gamper Trophy, a stretch that showed the coaching staff more than one glimpse of him before Sunday's squad was announced.
His rise has been steady rather than sudden. Marca described Goren as a key player for Barça Atlètic and said he has become a regular starter, while Sport examined how he won over Flick. For Barcelona, the timing matters because Dani Olmo is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, opening a place in the squad that Goren has used to move one step closer to the senior side.
That still leaves the biggest question untouched: whether he will actually get on the pitch at all. A squad place is not the same as minutes in El Clasico, and Barcelona can lean on more experienced names even with several injured players absent, including Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Roony Bardghji. Alex Campos also received his first league call-up, showing Flick is willing to look deeper into the group as Barcelona heads into the 10th round of La Liga.
For Goren, the immediate milestone is already real. He has moved from preseason training sessions into the squad for a match that usually belongs to established senior players, and that alone tells the story of how quickly his profile has risen inside Barcelona.
