Despite the fact that clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United and even Barcelona spend millions of pounds on players, that doesn’t mean that they forget about one of the cornerstones of any football club – a solid youth system.
While Barcelona has their fabled La Masia, Real Madrid have their own youth academy which has produced brilliant players like Spanish great Raul, Esteban Cambiasso, Iker Casillas, Rafa Benitez and many more.
Called La Fabrica, which means ‘the factory’, the academy was created around 1942 and has since provided players for Real Madrid’s reserve team Real Madrid Castilla, which has slowly become one of the most successful reserve sides in Spanish football, having amassed more points in the Spanish second division than any other reserve side.
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The youth academy system itself was established and developed in the ‘50s by former Real Madrid Aficionados player Miguel Malbo.
And since its inception in the 1950s, many players have progressed through the ranks of La Fabrica’s youth academy and some of the graduates have gone on to win numerous accolades for Real Madrid.
On that note, here are a few players in the Madrid academy who could make the switch to the senior team in the coming seasons.
#5 Diego Llorente
Real Madrid should be excited with the progress that the centre-back made last season during his loan spell at Rayo Vallecano, playing both as a centre back and in a more deep holding midfielder role.
His class on the ball, as well as his desire and courage (he once played with a broken nose) to win the ball back, were all on show. He made his debut for Real Madrid in Jose Mourinho’s last game as a manager and it was no surprise when he was loaned out to Rayo back then or even Malaga this season.
The 23-year-old is a fine passer from deep, capable of finding players 20 or even 30 yards ahead of him but his emphasis very much lies in protecting the defensive line and picking off set pieces, crosses and even dribbles into the area.
Llorente started 33 games at the Vallecas Stadium, and of the five he missed, two were due to suspension and two because he was contractually prevented from playing against Madrid. The versatile defender was one of Rayo's standout performers, which when Jemez's patented all-or-nothing playing style is taken into consideration, makes it that much more impressive.
His development in that role should impress Zidane especially since he gets a ready-made backup for Casemiro in the future.
#4 Borja Mayoral
Spanish U-19 international Borja Mayoral is a raw and skilled striker with immense potential. Though not as strong as other stars in the Castilla team, the 19-year-old’s fight is just as impressive and his Madridismo spirit has impressed the club hierarchy, which has a fan base who are notorious for being extremely critical of their players.
The striker is still a teenager but judging by the maturity he’s played with so far anyone would think that he is much older than he looks.
He has great instincts off the ball as well, finding spaces between the defence while also pressing high up the pitch to pressurise the back four in possession.
When he has the ball at his feet, Mayoral is extremely comfortable finding his way out of tight spaces and has great close control.
It didn’t take long for the Spaniard to shine and although he struggled a bit when Zidane brought him on during the Madrid derby last season, the 19-year-old worked incredibly hard and looked unphased by the magnitude of the opposition.
Mayoral has shown promise at both the youth level and with the reserves. However, the Spaniard is yet to prove himself as a first team player and that’s why Zidane sent him on loan to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg to give him ample top flight playing time.
#3 Federico Valverde
One of the most highly rated young players from South America, Federico Valverde was targetted by major European clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and even Real Madrid with Los Blancos eventually winning the race for the Uruguayan’s signature.
Nicknamed El Pajarito or The Birdie due to his dribbling abilities, the 18-year-old has the talent to play either as a central midfielder or even on the right flank, but while he lacks pace, Valverde more than makes up for it with his passing and his finishing.
Although Real Madrid bought the player as a 16-year-old, the Uruguayan could only join the club as a professional player in the summer of 2016 and has impressed since then. He impressed scouts during the 2015 U-17 South American Championships and scored seven goals to fire Uruguay to the top of Group B, edging out both Argentina and Chile.
Similar in style to James Rodriguez, Valverde still has to grow and improve as a player both physically and mentally. However, given time, he could end up being as fine a player as the Colombian.
#2 Jesus Vallejo
The 20-year-old defender was signed in the summer of 2015 and immediately sent out on loan before injuries curtailed his season, in which he managed to make a few starts for Spain’s under 21s. Vallejo has been touted to be the next big thing for Real Madrid, as the Los Blancos were willing to pay a fee in the region of € 5-6 million for the then 18-year-old in July.
Vallejo has the talent to play anywhere across the back four including right back and he is currently on loan in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt. He has made 16 appearances for the club – with 14 as a member of the starting XI.
The Spanish U-21 international is flourishing in the Bundesliga and when the German club contacted Zidane to extend the loan deal, the Frenchman had other ideas for his 20-year-old defender.
With contract talks between Pepe and Real Madrid stalling, Zinedine Zidane has picked Jesus Vallejo as the man to take the Portuguese's spot in the Madrid back four.
#1 Martin Odegaard
It hasn’t happened for Martin Odegaard at Real Madrid so far. The Norwegian was touted as the game’s greatest young talent when he moved to the Bernabeu in 2015 but as of right now, his future is very much uncertain.
It was never going to be easy coming to Madrid at just 16 and Odegaard did not get the best of welcomes at Castilla and found it difficult to fit into the team. The Norwegian had to feature for Castilla on the weekends and train with the first team squad at the same time so that did not make things any easier for him.
However, he has been at the club for almost two years and would probably have expected to be a first-team regular by now. That second year would have been the moment when the Norwegian midfielder would have been looking towards winning a first-team place and then making it his own.
However, the attacking midfielder – who turned 18 in December – has left Real on loan to join Heerenveen in the Netherlands which will last one and a half seasons, with his pathway to the first team blocked in Madrid.
This makes things harder for Odegaard, who finds himself too good to play for Madrid’s B team but at the same time not good enough to take the place of players like James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and even Isco in Los Blancos’s first team.
