The game of football is filled with young whippersnappers. Every now and then we hear of the next protegy player coming up through the ranks somewhere or another. I mean that usually isn't the case when they grow older, for instance Freddy Adu. Jack Wilshire at Arsenal, though young is proving he can compete at a high level and is bursting with confidence. New exciting players are being bread everyday in all different parts of the world. The lucky ones, however, are developed in the finest footballing academies available. All the big stars had to start somewhere. Where is the player development capital of the world? Is it North London? What about Catalonia or Turin? Manchester United is a great club, how about them? Let's find out.
FC Barcelona are said to have the greatest academy in the world by many people who take time to study the game of football. How can these people be sure? What evidence do they have? All you have to do is look at some of the players that have come out of the infamous La Masia. The names such as Victor Valdez, Puyol, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Sergi Busquets, Pique, and FCB's burrent boss and former player, Pep Guardiola. They've also developed big names that are at other clubs. Liverpool goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, Everton favorite, Mikel Arteta, and Arsenal playmaker, Cesc Fabregas. La Masia is not hard to find. It's simply right next to the the Nou Camp. The historic building was built in 1702. The academy was started in 1979 It is made up of 90% Spanish players, and 50% are Catalonians. The 10% are foreign such as Messi. So it's not to far off to say that the Barcelona area could produce some of the best talent in the world. Barcelona are active in the transfer market as much as anyone but it is a priority for them to breed players into their first team. The more number of La Masia players in the squad the more Catalonia is represented, which allows the club motto to stay true. Mes que un club. More than a club. Perhaps that is the reason the academy is so successful. We are beginning to see the next generation of La Masia products poke their head above the surface in Barcelona's preseason campaign while former academy players such as Puyol, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Valdez already have taken the reigns to lead the club, where they did so successfully last year being the first Spanish club to win the treble. Bojan Krkic has been the hype of the last few years as the future of Barcelona but new names are beginning to appear. Pedrito and Jeffran netted against Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy just a couple days ago. Dos Santos, former Barcelona youth product, helped Mexico steamrole the United States 5-0 in the gold cup final.
So if Barcelona has a great youth academy, than you would surely think their arch rivals Real Madrid would have one pretty close to being just as good. Sadly that is not the case recently. Real Madrid have developed plays and then are quick to ship them off because they have trouble breaking into a well established first team. For example, Javi Garcia to Benfica and Dani Parejo to Getafe just this summer. Perhaps it is because the academy isn't as strong, but the la madridista nation expects quality performances on every outing. That's a lot of pressure for youngster to handle. It's hard for the first teamers to handle at times. There are some faces on the Real Madrid side that are home bread though. Raul, Madrid's golden boy has been at the club since he was a boy. Iker Casillas the goalkeeper who has played in the youth ranks since age 9. Guti has also been brought up through Castilla. Madrid have been fortunate to reobtain some of their losses bringing back Granero from Getafe and Arbeloa from Liverpool, both of which were part of Madrid's system. It remains pretty obvious that Castilla does not campare well to La Masia in Barcelona. However in this summers U-18 World Club Championships it was Real Madrid who triumphed over Barcelona 2-1 in the final. That will leave a bitter taste in the mouthes of La Masia and continue to fuel the rivalry when these players reach first team action in years to come.
Let's get out of Spain for right now and travel north to the UK. One of the best academies in England you can go to is not, Man. Utd., Chelsea no, Liverpool nope, then surely Aresnal, wrong again. West Ham's The Academy of Football. Some of the greatest English players in the game today and off the past have trained there! Where do I even begin? Okay so West Ham isn't exactly a top notch club in the Prem but it certainly is a top notch place to develop players. In 1998-1999 the FA Youth Cup was won by a scoreline of 9-0 by this lot and featured players such as Chelsea's Joe Cole and Manchester United's Micheal Carrick. The likes of Harry Redknapp, England's 1966 World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore (I rather like that name), Paul Ince, Glen Johnson who just arrived at Liverpool after a spell with Pompey, Chelsea's Frank Lampard, Rio and Anton Ferdinand, and Jermaine Defoe have all come out of the Hammer's system. Oh wait I forgot to mention John Terry, Sol Campbell, Alan Curbishley, Kieran Richardson, Mark Noble and Jimmy Bullard also spent time there. And I know I must be forgetting some. That's an unbeleivable amount of talent coming out of one place. The Academy of Football takes the prize for developing the most prestigous players.
As of lately, Arsenal, mainly because the ideals of coach Arsene Wenger have heavily relied on their youth system, even more than Barca does. Some say it's an attribute to the club and what kind of players they develop. I'm going to poke my nose in on this business because not a lot of people will. Does Arsenal develop great youngsters? Absolutely. However, I think the opportunities at which they are sometimes exposed to the harsh world of top class footballing is are mistimed. Throwing young Gibbs into the mix against Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final? That just isn't a smart move. What does Arsene Wenger think he will do? I mean if he has a great match, its a boost of confidence that will carry a player for miles but Gibbs experience level is not ready to take on that challenge. I do think playing some young players in the Carling Cup is a good idea because you are putting aside a competitive torunament to expose them little by little. And in the Carling Cup the young players look great. They play the quick moving interplay combination football we know from Arsenal, but often times it's against a League 1 or 2 side. With Adebayor and Toure out the door this summer, Arsenal hasn't looked to sign anyone of any signifigance. Wenger once again believes that his young boys can do the job. It doesn't seem to be the season to be toying around with Manchester City buying players like they've come from a vending machine. I think the Arsenal youngers are way above par footballers but they need leaders to help them grow. Arsenal have an unstable Gallas, and a young Febregas leading the team. If they fail to impress this year or even drop out of the big four, I think we will see the end of Wenger and the youth will sink back into the woodwork with a new coach except for a very select few like Jack Wilshire.
Where does one create a player like Cristiano Ronaldo? Well you simply can't. You just develop the potential he has been given by the good Lord. Well where did they do that? The Sporting/Puma Academy in Lisbon, Portugal. That is where Sir Alex picked him up from after he had made a couple appearences for their first team. Many people believe that United develop the greatest home grown players. This is a common misconception. The United youth is very good, however they aren't from Manchester. Sir Alex and his scouts often pick up players like Ronaldo and mold them into high class footballing machines. Prime examples are Ronaldo himself, Fabio and Rafael da Silva, and a soon to be breakout star Marcheda, who was controversially moved from Lazio's Academy to United's.
I hope I have enlightend some on where the best academies are incase anyone out there has amamzing tallent and might be accepted, or you were just curious. There are other programs I failed to mention such as Inter Milan, Bayern Munchen, Juventus and PSG as well as others. However, I also didn't want to leave you material-less for today.
Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid
Bobby
FC Barcelona are said to have the greatest academy in the world by many people who take time to study the game of football. How can these people be sure? What evidence do they have? All you have to do is look at some of the players that have come out of the infamous La Masia. The names such as Victor Valdez, Puyol, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Sergi Busquets, Pique, and FCB's burrent boss and former player, Pep Guardiola. They've also developed big names that are at other clubs. Liverpool goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, Everton favorite, Mikel Arteta, and Arsenal playmaker, Cesc Fabregas. La Masia is not hard to find. It's simply right next to the the Nou Camp. The historic building was built in 1702. The academy was started in 1979 It is made up of 90% Spanish players, and 50% are Catalonians. The 10% are foreign such as Messi. So it's not to far off to say that the Barcelona area could produce some of the best talent in the world. Barcelona are active in the transfer market as much as anyone but it is a priority for them to breed players into their first team. The more number of La Masia players in the squad the more Catalonia is represented, which allows the club motto to stay true. Mes que un club. More than a club. Perhaps that is the reason the academy is so successful. We are beginning to see the next generation of La Masia products poke their head above the surface in Barcelona's preseason campaign while former academy players such as Puyol, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Valdez already have taken the reigns to lead the club, where they did so successfully last year being the first Spanish club to win the treble. Bojan Krkic has been the hype of the last few years as the future of Barcelona but new names are beginning to appear. Pedrito and Jeffran netted against Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy just a couple days ago. Dos Santos, former Barcelona youth product, helped Mexico steamrole the United States 5-0 in the gold cup final.
So if Barcelona has a great youth academy, than you would surely think their arch rivals Real Madrid would have one pretty close to being just as good. Sadly that is not the case recently. Real Madrid have developed plays and then are quick to ship them off because they have trouble breaking into a well established first team. For example, Javi Garcia to Benfica and Dani Parejo to Getafe just this summer. Perhaps it is because the academy isn't as strong, but the la madridista nation expects quality performances on every outing. That's a lot of pressure for youngster to handle. It's hard for the first teamers to handle at times. There are some faces on the Real Madrid side that are home bread though. Raul, Madrid's golden boy has been at the club since he was a boy. Iker Casillas the goalkeeper who has played in the youth ranks since age 9. Guti has also been brought up through Castilla. Madrid have been fortunate to reobtain some of their losses bringing back Granero from Getafe and Arbeloa from Liverpool, both of which were part of Madrid's system. It remains pretty obvious that Castilla does not campare well to La Masia in Barcelona. However in this summers U-18 World Club Championships it was Real Madrid who triumphed over Barcelona 2-1 in the final. That will leave a bitter taste in the mouthes of La Masia and continue to fuel the rivalry when these players reach first team action in years to come.
Let's get out of Spain for right now and travel north to the UK. One of the best academies in England you can go to is not, Man. Utd., Chelsea no, Liverpool nope, then surely Aresnal, wrong again. West Ham's The Academy of Football. Some of the greatest English players in the game today and off the past have trained there! Where do I even begin? Okay so West Ham isn't exactly a top notch club in the Prem but it certainly is a top notch place to develop players. In 1998-1999 the FA Youth Cup was won by a scoreline of 9-0 by this lot and featured players such as Chelsea's Joe Cole and Manchester United's Micheal Carrick. The likes of Harry Redknapp, England's 1966 World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore (I rather like that name), Paul Ince, Glen Johnson who just arrived at Liverpool after a spell with Pompey, Chelsea's Frank Lampard, Rio and Anton Ferdinand, and Jermaine Defoe have all come out of the Hammer's system. Oh wait I forgot to mention John Terry, Sol Campbell, Alan Curbishley, Kieran Richardson, Mark Noble and Jimmy Bullard also spent time there. And I know I must be forgetting some. That's an unbeleivable amount of talent coming out of one place. The Academy of Football takes the prize for developing the most prestigous players.
As of lately, Arsenal, mainly because the ideals of coach Arsene Wenger have heavily relied on their youth system, even more than Barca does. Some say it's an attribute to the club and what kind of players they develop. I'm going to poke my nose in on this business because not a lot of people will. Does Arsenal develop great youngsters? Absolutely. However, I think the opportunities at which they are sometimes exposed to the harsh world of top class footballing is are mistimed. Throwing young Gibbs into the mix against Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final? That just isn't a smart move. What does Arsene Wenger think he will do? I mean if he has a great match, its a boost of confidence that will carry a player for miles but Gibbs experience level is not ready to take on that challenge. I do think playing some young players in the Carling Cup is a good idea because you are putting aside a competitive torunament to expose them little by little. And in the Carling Cup the young players look great. They play the quick moving interplay combination football we know from Arsenal, but often times it's against a League 1 or 2 side. With Adebayor and Toure out the door this summer, Arsenal hasn't looked to sign anyone of any signifigance. Wenger once again believes that his young boys can do the job. It doesn't seem to be the season to be toying around with Manchester City buying players like they've come from a vending machine. I think the Arsenal youngers are way above par footballers but they need leaders to help them grow. Arsenal have an unstable Gallas, and a young Febregas leading the team. If they fail to impress this year or even drop out of the big four, I think we will see the end of Wenger and the youth will sink back into the woodwork with a new coach except for a very select few like Jack Wilshire.
Where does one create a player like Cristiano Ronaldo? Well you simply can't. You just develop the potential he has been given by the good Lord. Well where did they do that? The Sporting/Puma Academy in Lisbon, Portugal. That is where Sir Alex picked him up from after he had made a couple appearences for their first team. Many people believe that United develop the greatest home grown players. This is a common misconception. The United youth is very good, however they aren't from Manchester. Sir Alex and his scouts often pick up players like Ronaldo and mold them into high class footballing machines. Prime examples are Ronaldo himself, Fabio and Rafael da Silva, and a soon to be breakout star Marcheda, who was controversially moved from Lazio's Academy to United's.
I hope I have enlightend some on where the best academies are incase anyone out there has amamzing tallent and might be accepted, or you were just curious. There are other programs I failed to mention such as Inter Milan, Bayern Munchen, Juventus and PSG as well as others. However, I also didn't want to leave you material-less for today.
Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid
Bobby
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