“La Masia” Youth Academy in Barcelona: A New Era of Success and Talent Emerges

The Spanish word “masia” is usually translated as “farm,” which is not a big mistake, because a rural residence that is typical of the eastern part of Spain, including Catalonia , would be a better description. When Camp Nou was built in the late 1950s, architects working on Barcelona’s new terrain turned an old traditional hut nearby into a comfortable workspace.

Once the Camp Nou stadium construction was finished, Barcelona decided to move their offices there. In 1979, it became home to the youth academy, “La Masia”.

There were young people who came from further away and those who did not have family nearby. Over the decades, dozens of great Barcelona players have passed through, including Pep Guardiola, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Andres Iniesta. Barcelona’s academy also produced Xavi and Lionel Messi, but they didn’t stay at La Masia (although they went there to eat with their teammates every day after school).

In 2011, Barcelona moved their academy to a new building on the outskirts of the city, about 8 kilometers west of Camp Nou, but everyone still calls it “La Masia”.

This is where the stars of the first team Lamine Yamal and Bao Kuparsi live now, their family is a 10-minute walk from their training ground. Both teenagers have been impressive for Barcelona this season.

Cobarci made his La Liga debut in January, two days before his 17th birthday, and has not looked back. Yamal made his debut at the age of 15 at the end of last season, before turning 16 in July. He has since signed a huge sponsorship deal with Adidas, and for many is the club’s most exciting player since Messi.

A recent Football Observatory report found that Barcelona use the highest proportion of under-20 players of any club in Europe’s top five leagues (15 per cent of the first-team squad).

Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo, represented by “La Masia” (Reuters)

Much of the credit for that must go to Xavi, a manager who has boldly trusted youth since his arrival in November 2021. He made 16 debuts for the academy graduates in that time.

Yamal and Kuparsi are the stars of the show, but others, including fullback Hector Forte (17) and forward Marc Guyot (18), have also made an impact this season this – and more is on the way. Marc Bernal (16), Unai Hernandez (19), Kim Junint (17), Bao Prem (18) and Joel Fernandez (15) are all expected to feature for the first team in the coming seasons.

Xavi highly praised the upcoming youth scene. He described them as “heroic,” describing this quality as “the main difference” from his generation.

A key source from Barcelona – who, like everyone quoted here, preferred to speak anonymously to protect relationships – insists they see full commitment and trust in the youth academy as their ticket on the road back to great success in the future, while they recognize the importance of the club. Poor financial resources is a major reason.

Barcelona’s scouting network is one of the academy’s main strengths. Traditionally they have signed many players from the local region of Catalonia, but there is no restriction on signing talent from further afield. Javi and Fermin Lopez joined as young teenagers from Real Betis, for example.

La Masia sources told Athletic that the club “will never lose their mind – financially – for any young man. ” They also explained how they identified “the educational side of the club, and the ability to live in La Masia in a healthy situation” as positive factors in the discussions.

Barcelona have an intense, and sometimes heated, rivalry with Espanyol at youth level. Their city rivals also have a respected academy, and Catalan youth titles are often decided between the two sides. Many players joined Barcelona from Espanyol, including Marc Bartra, Marc Cucurella and Ilex Moriba.

Competitiveness at youth level shapes the character of La Masia players, and they are also learning to play in the same way as the Barcelona first team. This is a completely different approach from Real Madrid.

The football education that Madrid’s youth receive – as explained by those who work at the academy – focuses more on variety, flexibility and the ability to adapt to many tactical styles.

The aim is to train youngsters who can make it in the professional game, but more often than not, that means they will be playing away from Madrid.

Lamine Yamal and Pau Kuparsi shone with Barcelona and made the national team (Getty)

In a study carried out by the International Center for Sports Studies in November 2023, it was found that Real Madrid was the club that produced the most active players in the five major leagues in Europe, with 44 players.

In the 1980s, Real Madrid’s first team included many players who graduated from their academy, but this has become a thing of the past. Today, the most common way is to leave the club and buy it back later – the name “Villa Carvajal” (Carvajal Way), referring to the back leaving for played a season at Bayer Leverkusen and then returned to the Royal. Team.

In Barcelona, ​​fans are eager to see La Masia graduates in the first team, and the club’s decision-makers are always looking to ensure that the young getting a chance.

Perhaps November 25, 2012 represents the pinnacle of Barcelona’s golden example of this society. There were 11 youth products on the pitch for the La Liga match against Levante.

Victor Valdes, Martin Montoya (came on for Dani Alves after 15 minutes), Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, Messi and Iniesta helped to win 4-0 away in the Spanish League match, that day.

But one of the names in the lineup takes us to another side of the story; Because in recent years, the path from the academy to the first team has not been easy.

Cesc Fabregas left Barcelona for Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2003, later suggesting he felt players ahead of him meant he had little chance of breaking into the first team at the club.

But in the 2000s, the club’s most celebrated youngsters found themselves with fewer opportunities, as Barcelona had one of the best football teams.

Between 2010 and 2019, Sergi Roberto (who made his debut in 2010) was the only player who came up through the youth ranks of Barcelona and established himself in the first team.

Ansu Fati was next, appearing as an exciting 16-year-old in the 2019-2020 season, Ronald Araujo also arrived in that season, but perhaps it would not be better to consider the Uruguayan as a graduate of “La Masia ”, as it were. signed by the reserve team For the club when he was already a professional at the age of 19 years.

Eric Garcia, Xavi Simons, Sergio Gomez, Adrian Bernabe and Robert Navarro were among the players who chose to leave “La Masia” at this time. Dani Olmo left in 2014.

Kuparsi showed abilities beyond a young age (AP)

In July 2016, Barcelona signed left-back Lucas Digne, then about to turn 23, for €16.5 million from Paris Saint-Germain as Jordi Alba’s back-up. At the time, Alex Grimaldo (now a Spanish international at Bayer Leverkusen) excelled in the reserves. Two years later, Deeney was sold to Everton after struggling to adapt, and a year later Barcelona spent €20m on Junior Firpo from Betis. Left-back Cucurella (now at Chelsea and also a Spanish international), and Juan Miranda (now a regular at Betis, and played once for Spain in 2021) looked to break through the academy, but they were given.

In addition, some sources who work at La Masia now say that they believe that training methods and playing philosophy have changed in this period.

In December 2021, Xavi spoke of his surprise when he saw how things had changed since he left as a player in 2015. He was talking specifically about first team coaching – but the comments were suggesting that something had changed at the youth level as well.

He said: “Playing hasn’t been trained in Barcelona for years. It’s unbelievable. Some players still need to understand how we want to play. It’s strange to see that footballers don’t Barcelona first team player understands positional play. “I’ve only been here for a month, but I can say that there are several things that need to change, such as bringing in new players -in of course, but I’m talking about dynamics, practice and our philosophy.

A lot has changed in Barcelona’s academy in recent years. Facilities have been updated. The number of children living there has increased, with more than 80 young athletes living in the club’s training center, while there were less than 20 athletes in the old building “La Masia”. Policies are also changing.

Several sources who worked at La Masia believe that money is “the main reason in most players who decided to leave the club” in the last ten years. Steps have been taken to address this.

Britain’s departure from the European Union played a role in the development of this movement. English clubs are now not allowed to sign foreign talents under the age of 18. However, City were still making inquiries about Koparsi last year. City Football Club expected him to play for sister club Girona as a starter before moving to Manchester.

Kobarsi recently held talks with Barcelona about signing a new long-term contract, with plans to increase the release clause in his contract to one billion euros, as has already happened with Yamal.

Both players represent the best of La Masia. For years, professional experts have been teaching them how to play the football that Barcelona aims for. Kubarci’s death and turmoil on the ball already stand out at the European elite level.

Before his participation, the first team was looking for a player with his special skill as a center back. The youth academy helped shape exactly what they needed.

Cobarci is the 204th graduate to make his debut since the story of “La Masia” began in 1979. Barcelona fans will be hoping to see a lot more like him, and now there is a feeling that the academy youth in a better place than him. was before.