La Masia is the fabled academy of none other than FC Barcelona. Of course, it actually refers to Barca’s training facilities, but is mostly used in reference to the revered youth system.
It has come into the limelight multiple times in the recent past, and why not, considering some of its alumni are amongst the best players in the world. In fact, as many would argue, the very best, Lionel Messi, is from this reputable academy. Before we jump in to what makes this academy so successful, let’s look into its history.
La Masia was founded by Johan Cryuff in 1979. He proposed the idea to club chiefs, who went ahead with it. His main inspiration was the Ajax Academy. The Dutch powerhouse was known all across Europe for its production of world-beaters and Cryuff wanted to set up something of the sort in Catalonia. He wanted to borrow the free flowing total football from the Dutch and integrate it with the silky and high tempo passing of Barcelona, also known as tiki-taka.
La Masia is the highest producer of European talent, followed closely by Manchester United and Real Madrid.
A staggering 44 of its graduates are playing across Europe in the ‘big five’ leagues (Spain, England, Italy, France and Germany). If all of Europe is to be considered, then they have 57 players playing across the top 31 divisions. and are only behind the legendary Ajax Academy, and Partizan Belgrade in this comparison. But their class really shows when one knows that they have the most players playing in the best leagues in the world.
The academy mostly recruits from local regions, with almost 70-80% of its players coming from Catalonia. The rest are either from other parts of Spain or abroad. The players should have that sense of belonging when they play, and the fans also appreciate talent that has come through the academy.
Moving on to the working of this prestigious school, La Masia has roughly 270 players across 16 teams if we include the FC Barcelona B and U-19 sides. To cater to these players, it has a budget of almost 20 million Euros per year. It is the highest that any club spends on its academy. La Masia’s guidelines for development also demands its students go through formal education. In fact, some of the Barca B players are pursuing undergraduate degrees. Training usually begins after school, and lasts for around 90 minutes.
The success of this academy can be attributed to various factors. Obviously, one of the main ones is the highly selective scout, who only select the best talent from across the world. Scouts look for technical ability, vision and quick thinking. These are in-built traits that can never be coached completely. This scouting network is global, where Barca has affiliations with other clubs and schools, for example, Samuel Eto’o’s academy in Cameroon.
The chosen ones are then given world class training from coaches who have played the game professionally and are reputable football educators. The fact that the academy starts training them from ages as young as eight shows Barca’s commitment to youth and how much faith the club puts in La Masia. Enjoyment is a key facet of education, which ensures student engagement. Along with this, they are taught discipline, respect and humility. These are the values that add to the talent improving as footballers as well as people.
La Masia’s most successful graduate is Lionel Messi. A player scourged from the narrow lanes of Argentina and brought to Spain knowing that he had a growth hormone deficiency. The club paid for his treatment and developed him to become a global superstar and the arguably the best player in the world. He, along with Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique, makes up the famous class of 1987. Other world renowned graduates include Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández, Andres Iniesta, Pedro Rodriguez and Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
