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As a winger who can play on either the left or the right, Barnes will be hoping that his speed and creativity can help his new teammates claw past what’s expected to be a tough Quebecois side.

A fervent Real Madrid fan, it’s no surprise that Barnes models his game on Ronaldo. Like the Portuguese superstar, Barnes can use bursts of speed to blow past opponents, all while the ball rarely seems more than an inch or two from his boots.

Barnes’ creative impulses have had his coaches at Foothills so excited that they’ve had him competing this season at the under-14 level, providing him with the opportunity to test his skills against bigger opponents. From the sounds of it, the older kids haven’t fazed him.

“Marqus needed to be challenged a bit more,” said Foothills coach Leon Hapgood. “He’s very rare, because he’s one of the few who is brave in terms of wanting to dribble and run with the ball and take people on. That’s something we encourage with our younger players, but we always need to be careful that we don’t take that away from him, because that’s his skill-set.”

While Barnes admits that he admires Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, as well, there’s just something about Ronaldo’s game that resonates with him.

“Well, he’s a full-on athlete,” Barnes said. “He’s tall, he can win headers and he’s both-footed.”

Like Ronaldo, Barnes’ skill-set can be a difference-maker in tight, defensive games, which is surely why he was one of only 11 players — 32,000 young athletes are eligible for every year — to get the call to go to Quebec after the Ontario Selections.

It’s a huge honour, but he’ll readily admit that the big prize would come with winning the game and earning an all-expenses-paid trip to France for the Danone Nations Cup itself.

The annual tournament is the world’s largest for 10-to-12 year olds, bringing together teams from 32 countries for what essentially amounts to a junior world cup.

“I’m shocked, he put in a lot of work so for him to get this recognition, it’s overwhelming,” said Ricardo Barnes, Marqus’ dad.

daustin@postmedia.com

@DannyAustin_9