Barcelona Defender Marc Bartra Could Become Spain Regular After Late Call-Up

Marc Bartra received some good news on Monday night, when Vicente del Bosque gave him the call to join up with the Spanish national team.

Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos had to drop out of the coach's plans because of a soleus muscle problem in his right leg, per SPORT.

Bartra became the sixth Barcelona player in the Spain squad, although he is easily the least experienced.

Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodriguez, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba all have plenty of tournament experience under their belts. They have all been present while Spain have picked up the biggest trophies that international football has to offer.

Bartra, on the other hand, has played twice for La Roja.

Ariel Schalit/Associated Press

The 23-year-old may not get much of a chance to feature in either of the two games that Spain will now play.

First, Del Bosque's charges take on Slovakia and then Luxembourg after that, both games in which Bartra will believe he could excel in, if given the opportunity. 

His club-mate Gerard Pique is one of the players that stands in his way. Another is Napoli centre-back Raul Albiol, who will be eyeing up that spot alongside Pique at the back for Spain. 

However, Del Bosque will have seen Bartra this season play well alongside Pique at Barcelona, in games like the clash against Apoel Nicosia and Rayo Vallecano.

Perhaps he will be tempted to go with the good understanding that those two players have and pair them up.

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

To seal his place in future Spain squads, regardless of whether or not he plays in these fixtures, Bartra has to do two things.

The first is simple. He needs to have a perfect attitude and apply himself totally in training.

Del Bosque will be watching Bartra, to see how much he really wants to be a Spain international.

If he is committed totally during the training sessions and behaves well in Spain's camp, the coach will know that Bartra can be a good influence and is trustworthy.

The other is harder to do. Bartra needs to barge his way into Luis Enrique's first-team plans at Barcelona.

Daniel Tejedor/Associated Press

Sure, the youngster's played a bit of football this season, but the most selected centre-back partnership at Barcelona is Jeremy Mathieu with Javier Mascherano.

With Pique and Thomas Vermaelen also vying for a spot in the side, Bartra has his work cut out.

Before the start of the season he spoke well, saying that he is ready to knuckle down and really fight for his place. Per the Barcelona website, he said:

"

It’s my third year and I’ve been through a lot, from not getting a sniff to playing a bit and then getting picked for big games. Now I feel mature and excited about giving all I can to the first team. There will be more competition and we will have to grit our teeth and fight for a place in the team.

The best thing we can do is to accept that there are no guaranteed starters and reserves – we are all the same. There are players with more cachet, but the most important thing is what they bring to the team as a whole.

"

Bartra sounds like he knows what he needs to do. All he has to do now, is do it.