Double surprise for Cristian Tello as he gets a call up

There was a double surprise waiting for Barca’s Cristian Tello when he landed in Kuala Lumpur, one of which may have been more surprising than the other. One of the surprises was that he was picked by Vicente Del Bosque for the Spain squad.

The young player’s progress is excellent and he has to work hard to compete in a Barca team alongside Messi and Neymar, and where for now Pedro and Alexis are the two occupying the next spots in Barca’s hierarchy.

Considering the fact that Cesc usually plays as in Malaysia and Leo Messi is resting, it is clear that the two spots left by them have become very sought after. Even so, Tello is still there for anyone wishing to sleep on their laurels to step in and get some valuable playing time. It’s this playing time that has caught the eye of Vicente del Bosque.

“I do not consider myself inferior to anybody,” said Tello on Friday when he learned, via the official twitter of the Spanish Football Federation, of his first call up with the Spain team. Tello attributed much of this decision to his participation in the youth teams ever since he was 17 years old.In any case, this is good news for the Barca academy.

What Tello was least expecting in Malaysia was the hero’s welcome he received as one of Barca’s star players, a phenomenon noticeable from the moment he set foot in Kuala Lumpur.

His name was chanted along with Messi’s and Neymar’s, almost equally and appearing written on the banners of the thousands of fans who have followed his footsteps to the stadiums, in the practice sessions and in the game against the Malaysia international team.

Cristian Tello turned 22 yesterday

Despite the accumulated tiredness, Cristian Tello still had some energy left to celebrate his 22^nd birthday yesterday with family and friends. Today though, he’ll celebrate it further with La Roja.