“You don’t even know who he is” - Ex-Barcelona star Jordi Alba names surprise player who had trial at Manchester United as toughest opponent

Former Barcelona star Jordi Alba has named a surprise player as the toughest opponent he's ever faced. Alba, 35, is one of football's greatest-ever defenders and enjoyed a successful career in Europe with Barcelona.

The Spaniard began his career with lower division club Cornella before joining Valencia in 2007. He rose through the club's reserve ranks and established himself as a regular in the senior team.

Alba's impressive displays with Los Che earned him a transfer to Barcelona in 2012 where he won a plethora of trophies with the Catalan club. He joined Inter Miami in 2023 on a free transfer.

Playing for Barcelona meant that Aba faced some of the best forwards in LaLiga and across Europe. However, it was during his time at Valencia that he faced his toughest opponent — former Swedish midfielder Kennedy Bakircioglu.

Speaking recently to MARCA, Alba said (via talkSPORT):

"I'm always asked this and you don't even know who he is. It was during the season when I started playing as a full-back. I remember that it was a sunny day at Mestalla… and Racing de Santander came. His name was Kennedy [Bakircioglu], [he had] little hair… he was flying. He made me… it was four in the afternoon, I had a terrible time.”

Kennedy Bakircioglu, now 44, played for Twente, Ajax, Racing Santander, and Hammarby. He notably had a trial at Manchester United in 1998. However, he failed to impress Sir Alex Ferguson and was not snapped up by the Premier League giants. Bakircioglu represented the Sweden national team on 13 occasions and retired in 2018.

Former Barcelona star Jordi Alba names ex-Manchester United forward as second-toughest opponent

Speaking on the same platform, Jordi Alba mentioned former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward Angel Di Maria as another player he struggled against.

He said about the Benfica winger:

"When I was already at a good level, I think the worst was [Angel] Di Maria. Di Maria was spectacular at Madrid, very good, but not only when it came to attacking, but also defending, he didn't stop. He's a year older than me and he still runs. He's a player I've always liked a lot."

Alba faced the Argentine eight times against Real Madrid and twice versus Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), recording two wins, three draws, and five losses.