What’s the story?
In an interview with a popular Spanish radio station CadenaSER, Chelsea forward Pedro explained exactly what was wrong with Barcelona’s youth academy – La Masia. The former Barcelona man, who came through the academy and spent eight seasons in the senior team, was asked about why the club failed to trust youth talent and produce players of note like they did with the golden generation that won the sextuple with Pep Guardiola.
“We’re seeing a lot of kids leaving [La Masia],” Pedro said. “And, in my opinion, that’s a shame because I think [Barcelona] are losing the philosophy of the academy a little.”
“Of course, they’re still one of the world leaders in producing players, but years ago they were using those players in the first team more regularly.
“When I was there, we even had a whole side made up of La Masia graduates,” he continued. “It’s difficult to see that happening again today.”
In case you didn’t know...
La Masia (which literally translates to The Farmhouse) is Barcelona’s youth academy and had been hailed as the best in the world in the past decade due to the number of world class talents it produced. Players such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets, and Pedro himself all came through the academy’s ranks.
It was also the first youth academy to have trained and nurtured all three finalists in the 2010 Ballon d’Or – Messi, Iniesta and Xavi. In 2012, the entire Barcelona XI in a La Liga game was made up of La Masia graduates (Victo Valdes, Martin Montoya, Puyol, Pique, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Fabregas, Messi).
The heart of the matter
Ever since Pep Guardiola’s departure, none of the subsequent coaches had paid much attention to promoting youth players. Instead, they prioritised results by signing first team players which resulted in a departure from the club’s philosophy of promoting from within.
Luis Enrique’s tactics were also completely different to what was taught at the youth levels. While the club’s philosophy saw players like Xavi focus on possession and positional play, today’s team plays a lot more direct. The midfield has stagnated and the team fails if MSN (Messi-Suarez-Neymar) fail to get going.
Video: A day in the life of a youth player at La Masia
Author’s take
Pedro makes a very valid point. A number of La Masia players have either failed to make their mark at the club or have been moved on to other clubs. What the club needs to do is go back to its roots and reinvigorate the philosophy championed by Jonah Cruyff when he built the foundations of the academy that has made Barcelona what it is today.
