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La Masia

Coordinates: 41°22′59″N 2°07′23″E / 41.38306°N 2.12306°E / 41.38306; 2.12306
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La Masia building seen from the street

Inaugurated in 1966, La Masia de Can Planes, often shortened to La Masia (English: the farmhouse),[1] is the name given to FC Barcelona's training facilities located near the Camp Nou in the Les Corts district of Barcelona, and is often used to generically describe the youth academy of Barcelona. The building itself is an ancient country residence built in 1702 and once Camp Nou was inaugurated in 1957, the building was remodelled and extended for use as the club's social headquarters. On 20 October 1979 La Masia became the residence of young players from outside of Barcelona.[2]

History

Built in 1702, La Masia was an old country residence, before being bought by FC Barcelona in 1954. At first, La Masia was used as a workshop by architects and builders of the new stadium, Camp Nou. After the inauguration of the new stadium in 24 September 1957, La Masia was closed down. Under the presidency of Enric Llaudet, the building was remodelled and extended for use as headquarters' office space, which opened on 26 September 1966. With the growth of the club, there was insufficient space, and La Masia was remodelled to house young academy players from outside of Barcelona.[3]

One of the first graduates of La Masia, who would later earn international acclaim was now Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola. Starting in the first team in 1990, Guardiola was one of the first graduates during Johan Cruyff's management, which lasted from 1988–1996. Guardiola would later be a source of inspiration for the midfielders Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Cesc Fàbregas.[4] Xavi later reported that he considered transferring abroad due to the pressure and high expectations to fill Guardiolas role in the midfield.[5]

In recent years, with Barcelona's success with homegrown players, La Masia has received more press attention, and according to Rory Smith of The Daily Telegraph, "has replaced the fabled Ajax Academy as football‘s foremost production line."[6] The success of La Masia as a talent school has by Ian Hawkey of The Times been ascribed to the class of '87 which featured prominent members as Cesc Fàbregas, Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué and late addition Pedro Rodríguez.[7]

As of May 2009 more than 440 youngsters have left their homes and families to live at La Masia, in the 30 year span since the inauguration in 1979. About half of the players have been from Catalonia and the rest from Spain and beyond, including 15 from Cameroon, seven from Brazil, five from Senegal and three from Argentina. Of those 440, about 10% has made into the first team.[8] La Masia can house around 60 players, 10 in the farmhouse itself and the rest in rooms inside the adjacent stadium.[2]

Organisation

The youth academy of Barcelona is one of the most expensive in Europe, costing $8 million a year in 2002, the main source of cost being the dormitory, La Masia itself. The youth program starts for six-year-olds, each year more than 1,000 boys from the age of six to eight are on trial to become members of the youth academy. The director and staff select the top 200 of the 1,000 to continue training in the club.[9] To search and scout for prospective students, the club utilities a scouting system, with 15 scouts in Catalonia, 15 scouts in the rest of Spain and 10 additional scouts scattered throughout the world. To alleviate scouting expenses, the club also has a development agreement with 15 local clubs, who trains players that are not ready for entry into the youth academy in return for money, coaching and technical advice.[10] Expanding globally, the club has set up five schools in Mexico and one in Egypt, where students enroll full-time to receive ordinary education and football training.[11]

The teams at Barcelona play from August to May, due to the mild weather the players are able to train outdoors throughout the year. The youth teams train after school, with Barcelona B and C as professional teams, train in the morning and evening.[12] All of the trainers at Barcelona are former professional footballers.[13]

From FC Barcelona B, the club's main youth team, downwards, there are 13 teams that count more than 300 players and 24 coaches. According to midfielder Xavi, one of the main features learned are "(...) play offensively and to keep possession with one-two passing."[14]

The two top teams, Barcelona B and Barcelona C are both playing in the Spanish football pyramid, in Segunda Division (2nd) and Tercera Division (4th) respectively.[10] Both Barcelona B and C play in a 4-3-3 formation, easing transition into the first team which employ same formation.[15]

Squad Age
Barcelona B –
Barcelona C –
Juvenil A 17–19
Juvenil B 15–18
Cadet A 15–16
Cadet B 14–15
Infantil A 13–14
Infantil B 12–13
Alevi A 11–12
Alevi B 10–11
Benjamí A 9–10
Benjamí B 8–9
Prebenjamí 7–8

Philosophy

"The player who has passed through La Masia has something different to the rest, it's a plus that only comes from having competed in a Barcelona shirt from the time you were a child."

— Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola[14]

Former technical director, Pep Segura, puts the clubs success down to its style: “It is about creating one philosophy, one mentality, from the bottom of the club to the top,”. The style consist of the application of total football mixed with the traditional Spanish one-touch play (tiqui-taka).[6] The total football approach sets large demands to the players technical ability, so the training in the youth academy stresses technical abilities above all else. In the words of current director Llorenc Ferrer; "there are no tactics without technic".[16] The former player and manager, Johan Cruyff is often ascribed as being responsible for bringing the total football, a system where players often change between positions, and subsequent success to Barcelona.[6][17]

One of the core values taught at Masia is humility, according to academy director Carles Folguera: "It is humility that earns you respect".[1] The focus on humility is also seen as a prerequisite of team cohesion.

Another aspect of La Masia is the regional nationalism, local talent in the service of a club with a strong, defining sense of the cultural make-up of Catalonia.[18] The supporters often prefer locally developed players to foreign players if the talent is constant. In this way the emphasis on homegrown talent concurs with UEFA's attempts to curb the influx of foreign players in clubs.[18] The head of UEFA, Michel Platini said: "Barcelona represent my philosophy, not only for the game, but also for the training of athletes".[19]

Impact

In 2009, Messi became the first player from La Masia to be awarded with the Ballon d'or. Other Masia alumni who finished high in that season's balloting included Xavi in third and Iniesta in fourth.

On 11 July 2010, Spain won the World Cup final with eight players from Barcelona; of those seven were from La Masia, and six of those were in the starting line-up: Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodríguez. David Villa was in the starting line up but he wasn't a product of La Masia, and Víctor Valdés was a back up goal keeper. This is the record for most players being provided by an academy in a World Cup final.[20] In a Reuters report, La Masia was put forth as one of the possible explanations, other factors mentioned being economic development and/or pure chance, for Spain's World Cup success.[21] Joachim Löw, coach of Germany, explained after the defeat to Spain, that they had a distinct Barcelona style: “You can see it in every pass, how Spain plays is how Barcelona plays. They can hardly be beaten. They are extremely confident and very calm in the way they circulate the ball.”[22]

Alumni

Below is an alphabetical list of La Masia alumni who have played in more than 50 professional top-tier league games. Only league appearances and goals included.[n 1]

Name Nationality[n 2] Position Year of birth Career[n 3] Appearances Goals Club[n 4]
Quique Álvarez[n 5]  Spain Defender 1975 1995–2009 200 5 Villareal
Guillermo Amor  Spain Midfielder 1967 1988–2002 402 48 Barcelona
Carles Busquets[n 6]  Spain Goalkeeper 1967 1990–1999 79 0 Barcelona
Sergio Busquets[n 7]  Spain Defender 1974 1994– 2010 57 1 Barcelona
Jordi Cruyff  Netherlands Midfielder 1987 2004– ¤ 256 42 Alavés
Cesc Fàbregas  Spain Midfielder 1987 2004– ¤ 187 32 Arsenal
Luis García  Spain Midfielder 1978 1999– ¤ 225 40 Racing Santander[26]
Josep Guardiola  Spain Midfielder 1971 1990–2006 291 9 Barcelona
Xavi Hernández  Spain Midfielder 1980 1998– ¤ 352 35 Barcelona
Andrés Iniesta  Spain Midfielder 1984 2002– ¤ 210 17 Barcelona
Bojan Krkić  Spain Forward 1990 2007– ¤ 77 20 Barcelona
Lionel Messi  Argentina Winger 1987 2004– ¤ 144 88 Barcelona
Thiago Motta  Brazil Midfielder 1982 2001– ¤ 152 20 Inter[27]
Gerard Piqué  Spain Defender 1987 2005– ¤ 89 3 Barcelona[28]
Oleguer Presas  Spain Defender 1980 2002– ¤ 146 2 Ajax[29]
Carles Puyol  Spain Defender 1978 1999– ¤ 331 6 Barcelona
Pepe Reina  Spain Goalkeeper 1982 2002– ¤ 317 0 Liverpool
Pedro Rodríguez  Spain Forward 1987 2007– ¤ 42 12 Barcelona
Víctor Valdés  Spain Goalkeeper 1982 2002– ¤ 262 0 Barcelona

Notes

  1. ^ All player information from La Liga can be found on the official La Liga homepage, which list player data for each completed season.[23]
  2. ^ Country indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
  3. ^ Start with first top-tier league game and ends with the last
  4. ^ In case a player has played for several clubs, the club where he has played most games is listed. If the player is still active, current club is shown.
  5. ^ Was head coach of Barcelona youth side Juvenil A from 2009 to 2010 where Óscar García Junyent will take over.[24]
  6. ^ Is father of current Barça player Sergio Busquets. From 2010 onwards the new goalkeeping coach of Barcelona[25]
  7. ^ Is son of former Barça player Carles Busquets.

References

Bibliographies
  • McShane, Kevin (2002). Coaching youth soccer: the European model. McFarland. ISBN 0786410884.
Notes
  1. ^ a b Price, Sean (6 July 2010). "School of Soccer Champions". Scholastic. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  2. ^ a b Rogers, Iain (22 October 2009). "Barca talent farm marks 30 years of success". Reuters. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ^ "La Masia". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  4. ^ Hawkey, Ian (22 March 2009). "Novelty factor adds spice to clash of giants". The Times. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Informe Robinson: Xavi & Iniesta". Plus.es. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Smith, Rory (17 July 2010). "World Cup 2010: Spain's battle won on the playing fields of Barcelona". Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  7. ^ Hawkey, Ian (28 March 2010). "Friends reunited: Cesc Fabregas and the class of 1987". The Times. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  8. ^ Rogers, Iain (25 May 2009). "INTERVIEW-Soccer-La Masia a fertile breeding ground for Barca". Reuters. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  9. ^ McShane, Kevin. p. 39
  10. ^ a b McShane, Kevin. p. 53
  11. ^ "FCBEscola". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  12. ^ McShane, Kevin. p. 74-79
  13. ^ McShane, Kevin. p. 105
  14. ^ a b "Barça kids at home at La Masia on". UEFA. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  15. ^ McShane, Kevin. p. 77
  16. ^ McShane, Kevin. p. 74
  17. ^ Wilson, Richard (9 July 2010). "Iberian total football is good copy of a Dutch master". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  18. ^ a b Hawkey, Ian (14 May 2006). "Fame academy". The Times.
  19. ^ "Platini still upset by Arsenal signings". 24hoursport.co.uk. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  20. ^ Fitzpatrick, Richard (9 July 2010). "Spain's heart not winning over minds of Catalans". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  21. ^ Reuters (29 July 2010). "ANALYSIS-Sport-Spain's sporting boom shines amid economic gloom". Eurosport. Retrieved 2010-07-30. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ Hughes, Rob (9 July 2010). "Talent to Spare, but There's Only One Trophy". New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  23. ^ "LFP – Barcelona Seasons". Liga de Fútbol Profesional Tables for other seasons may be obtained using the "Other searches" button. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  24. ^ Domènech, O; Artús, J. L. (27 July 2010). "Òscar entrenará al Juvenil A | Barça". Mundodeportivo.es. Retrieved 2010-07-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ "2010–11 Squad". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  26. ^ Luis Garcia. "Luis Javier García Sanz Profile". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  27. ^ Thiago Motta. "Thiago Motta Profilet". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  28. ^ Gerard Piqué. "Gerard Pique Profile". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  29. ^ Oleguer. "Oleguer Presas Renom Profile". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.

Transport

External links

41°22′59″N 2°07′23″E / 41.38306°N 2.12306°E / 41.38306; 2.12306

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