La Liga 2018-19: 4 things FC Barcelona fans should be excited for this season

#4 Resurrection of La Masia

Not so long ago, the late manager Tito Vilanova fielded a lineup that went into the club's history books even before kick off as the team sheet contained eleven names that were all brought up in La Masia academy. Fast forward to April 2018, the club fielded a starting lineup with no La Masia graduates on the team sheet. There is not just one thing or a person to blame for the decline in the production line. It had a variety of factors leading to the decrepit situation of the youth academy.

Xavi, Iniesta, Messi were generational talents complemented by other greats Pique, Busquets, Valdes, and Pedro, along with some world-class buys, that went on to become one of the best sides in the history of the game. While they lasted, it was hard for new players to step in as the playing time was hard to come by. Thiago and Fabregas are two great examples of players, who couldn't get enough game time to aid their development and left while there was time.

There have been many issues within the club management as well, one of which led to the club parting ways with the legendary trainer Joan Vila. The trainer whom Xavi and Puyol were particularly appreciative about, for being there during their formative years at the club.

Agents didn't help too by luring players away from the club, by offering more money and game time with the first teams in foreign leagues, and also by demanding the club for more percentages from the contracts they signed to stay put.

Barcelona B side shows promise for a bright future.

The times seem to be changing slightly though. The emergence of new talents like Carles Aleña and Oriol Busquets, who are likely to be promoted to the first team raises hopes for these youngsters and the future of La Masia. Abel Ruiz is another youngster, who shows a lot of promise. He is a forward to watch out for in the future, having also featured for the Spanish National Team in the Under-17 World Cup.

Marc Cucurella will likely be the backup to Alba this season. Juan Miranda is the next big thing to look out for in the backline.

Barcelona B announced Garcia Pimienta as their new coach earlier this year.

The most important change that took place was before the summer with the appointment of Garcia Pimienta as the new Barcelona B coach. Francisco Javier "Xavi" García Pimienta was a former player, who himself was part of the youth setup at the club.

"I don't understand any other way, except the Barça way" were his words during his first-ever press conference as the B-team boss. Hopefully, he succeeds in bringing the B-team back to the Segunda A division, while moulding players to prepare them for the first team, and rolls back the good old times for Cataluña.