Marcos Alonso: Playing for Barca fulfils a dream I've had since I was a kid

Marcos Alonso was presented as a Barcelona player on Tuesday with special emotion and memories of his father, who was an idol for Barça fans in the 1980s, and with the illusion of seeing his dream come true of wearing the Blaugrana shirt. The Spanish international was presented along with Héctor Bellerín.

The former Chelsea left back shared the stage with the president of Barça, Joan Laporta, who also had some very affectionate words for Marcos and his family.

Alonso spoke with great emotion and confessed to feeling "very happy to have the opportunity to be part of this great team." Marcos, who felt the Barça colors from a young age due to his father's football past, said that signing for Barça "is what I always wanted since I was a child. My father brought me to the Camp Nou" to follow the games while he played "and to be here now it is something very special because of those memories and because it is the team in which my father triumphed."

He explained that he arrives at Barça "very eager and excited to achieve a lot of success. The fans are very excited (with the team) and the team's success will be my success."

Marcos hopes that in his time as a Barça player (he has signed for one season) he will be able to "contribute experience and help the youngsters... and also attempting to score the odd free-kick...", he concluded, following Laporta's wink about his set play expertise.

Alonso added that Barça's squad is "very good. I already knew quite a few players from the national team or from other teams, or having played against them, and the human quality hasn't surprised me. Regarding the football quality, this year I hope to have a lot of joy and that you can really see the great team that the president and everyone have been able to build."

When it came to talking about titles, the Blaugrana defender stressed that "rather than dreaming, you have to work hard, sacrifice and train, and I'm sure that this will bring all the success and joy that we hope for."

He was reminded of the mythical goal scored by his father, also Marcos Alonso, nicknamed 'El Pichón', in the 1983 Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, and asked if he could score one just like it. "That made him a unique person. Now I have to prepare my way in a new team where I start from scratch and I will have to work hard at the training ground to earn my position."