La Masia
Encyclopedia
La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia, (ɫə məˈzi.ə, English
: ), 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 youth academy of Barcelona holds more than 300 young players, and has been praised since 2002 as one of the best in the world, being a significant factor in FC Barcelona's European success as well as the Spanish national team's success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
. In 2010, la Masia achieved a record breaking honor becoming the first youth academy to have trained all three finalists for the Ballon d'Or in one same year, with Andrés Iniesta
, Lionel Messi
and Xavi Hernández
.
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. With the gradual expansion of the club, the building became too small for headquarters, and, on 20 October 1979, La Masia was converted into a dormitory for young players from outside of Barcelona. On June, 30, 2011 the Masia building ceased housing the young sportsmen who are trained to become a part of the Club’s professional teams. In a simple, but emotionally charged ceremony, the doors were closed and the new Masia-Centre de Formació Oriol Tort, at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
, took over the function of the residential center for the youngsters.
. After Camp Nou was inaugurated on 24 September 1957, La Masia was closed down. Under the presidency of Enric Llaudet
, the building was remodeled and extended; it reopened as an office for the club's headquarters on 26 September 1966. La Masia could not accommodate the increasing number of employees as the club grew, and president Josep Núñez
remodelled it in 1979 to house a young academy of players who came from outside of Barcelona. The idea for the youth academy was proposed to Núñez by Johan Cruyff
, a former player who was a youth-product from the Ajax Academy. Núñez installed Oriol Tort as director.
One of the first graduates of the academy was the midfielder Guillermo Amor
, who débuted in 1988. Amor went on to play 311 La Liga
matches for the first team. Two years later, he was followed by goalkeeper Carles Busquets
and midfielder Josep Guardiola
. All three made their first team début under Cruyff, who was made manager of the first team in 1988. The team played to Cruyff's tiki-taka philosophy, derived from total football
, which has often been attributed as a key component in Barcelona's later success and international appeal. Guardiola matured into a total-football midfielder, and became a source of inspiration for later midfielders from La Masia, such as Xavi Hernández
, Andrés Iniesta
and Cesc Fàbregas
. Xavi, who was Guardiola's understudy for three years, said in 2010 that he once considered transferring abroad because of the pressure and high expectations placed on him to fill Guardiola's role in the midfield.
Guardiola was appointed the new coach of FC Barcelona B
in May 2007. At that time, the team was in organisational disarray as it entered the fourth tier of Spanish football. The relegation of the B team was a cause in the disbanding of FC Barcelona C
, which played in that league. In Guardiola's re-organisation of the reserve side, he made places available in Barcelona B to players above the age of 21; his aim was to increase competition within the team and help it advance into a more competitive league. He divided the players into two categories: "pearls", which was composed of the young players, and the "backbone", which was mostly composed of those who were more mature. The "backbone players" were between 21 and 26 years old and they stayed in the B team for a maximum of two years before being sold. Guardiola said the two-year duration was to allow for room to constantly develop youth players.
After re-organising the youth side, Guardiola convinced club president Laporta of the need for better training facilities, and the youth teams moved to La Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
, where Laporta had various technical laboratories installed so the coaches could follow the training more closely. By the end of the 2007–08 season, Barcelona B was promoted to the third tier, Segunda B, and, at the end of 2009–10, to the second tier Segunda, which was the top-tier for a reserve team (the first-team plays in the Primera Division
).
La Masia received more publicity after Barcelona B's success with homegrown players; Rory Smith reported in The Daily Telegraph
that La Masia "has replaced the fabled Ajax Academy as football's foremost production line." The recent fame and success of La Masia as a talent school was ascribed by Ian Hawkey of The Times
to the class of 1987, which featured prominent members as Cesc Fàbregas
, Lionel Messi
, Gerard Piqué
and Pedro Rodríguez
. In 2000, Louis van Gaal
, coach of FC Barcelona's first team, was widely ridiculed by the city sports media for his dream to win the Champions League
with 11 home-grown players. The first team won the trophy in 2009 with eight home-grown players.
In the 30 years since La Masia's inauguration, more than 500 youngsters have left their homes and families to stay at the academy. About half of them were from Catalonia
, and the rest came from other regions of the Kingdom of Spain and beyond, including 15 from Cameroon
, 7 from Brazil
, 5 from Senegal
and 3 from Argentina
. Of those 500, about 10 percent made it into the first team.
The academy is one of the most expensive in Europe, operating at a cost of £5 million a year. The main cost is the dormitory, La Masia itself. The minimum age for the youth program is six years; each year, more than 1,000 boys from the ages of six to eight try out for admittance. The best 200 are selected. The club also actively seeks for prospective students; it employs a system in which 15 scouts are deployed in Catalonia, 15 in the rest of Spain and 10 scattered throughout the world. To alleviate the expenses of this scouting, the club has an agreement with 15 local clubs for them to train players who are not ready for entry into the youth academy. In return, FC Barcelona gives money, coaching and technical advice to these clubs for their services. While expanding its operations abroad, the club established five schools in Mexico and one in Egypt; successful applicants to these schools become full-time students, receiving academic education and football training.
When Guardiola re-organised the reserve side, he set up a three-staged program to formalise the advancement from Juvenil to Barcelona B and finally to the first team. The first stage of a youth player's career involves a rotation scheme with Barcelona B. The second stage involves making the player aware of his importance to the team, and expects the player to improve cohesion and performance within the reserve side. In the last stage, he is designated a "key" player of the B team and might be called to the first team. One of the players in the third phase is made captain, regardless of the experience of older players.
The teams at Barcelona play from August to May; mild weather at La Masia allows players to train outdoors throughout the year. The youth teams train after school; Barcelona B and C, as professional teams, train in the morning and evening. All of the trainers at FC Barcelona are former professional footballers.
FC Barcelona B
, the club's main youth team, and the 12 other youth teams contained 24 coaches and more than 300 players. There are 56 other employees, including doctors, psychologists, nutritionists, cooks and physiologists. In the 2009–10 season, the B team qualified for the Segunda División again. Barcelona B play in a 4-3-3 formation
, which is the same formation employed by the first team.
mixed with traditional Spanish one-touch play (tiqui-taka). The total football approach was derived from the Netherlands football team through Cruyff. The total football approach requires the players to move in a fluid formation, where players can interchange positions quickly. In the youth academy, there is a large focus on technical ability, which is seen as a pre-requisite for inter-changes. An often-quoted reason for Barcelona's success is the continuity and commitment with which Barcelona follow the current philosophy of pass and move. Guardiola was the prototype of the pivotal midfielder; current midfielders Xavi and Iniesta are its custodians.
Another aspect of La Masia is its marked catalan national character—local talent in the service of a club with a strong, defining sense of the cultural make-up of Catalonia. The supporters often prefer locally-developed players to foreign players if the players are equally talented. In this way, the emphasis on homegrown talent concurs with UEFA
's attempts to curb the influx of foreign players in clubs. The head of UEFA, Michel Platini said: "Barcelona represent my philosophy, not only for the game, but also for the training of athletes".
On 11 July 2010, Spain
won the World Cup
final
with eight players from Barcelona; seven were from La Masia, and six of them were in the starting line-up: Gerard Piqué
, Carles Puyol
, Andrés Iniesta
, Xavi Hernández
, Sergio Busquets, and Pedro Rodríguez
. This set a record for the most players to be provided by a club side for a team in a World Cup final. A Reuters report suggested that Spain's World Cup success was possibly due to La Masia; other factors mentioned were economic development and luck. Joachim Löw, coach of Germany, said after his side's defeat by Spain that the opposition 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."
On 6 December 2010, FIFA
announced that the top 3 finalists for the newly created FIFA Ballon d'Or
are Xavi, Lionel Messi, and Andrés Iniesta. This marks only the third time in the history of the "World's best" award that one team has provided all three players for the final three positions, and the first time that one youth academy has produced the final three players.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: ), is the name given to FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
's training facilities located near the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
in the Les Corts district of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and is often used to generically describe the youth academy of Barcelona.
The youth academy of Barcelona holds more than 300 young players, and has been praised since 2002 as one of the best in the world, being a significant factor in FC Barcelona's European success as well as the Spanish national team's success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. In 2010, la Masia achieved a record breaking honor becoming the first youth academy to have trained all three finalists for the Ballon d'Or in one same year, with Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....
, Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
and Xavi Hernández
Xavi
Xavier Hernández i Creus , commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi , is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career....
.
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. With the gradual expansion of the club, the building became too small for headquarters, and, on 20 October 1979, La Masia was converted into a dormitory for young players from outside of Barcelona. On June, 30, 2011 the Masia building ceased housing the young sportsmen who are trained to become a part of the Club’s professional teams. In a simple, but emotionally charged ceremony, the doors were closed and the new Masia-Centre de Formació Oriol Tort, at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
The Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper is the training ground and academy base of Catalan football club, FC Barcelona, it was officially opened on June 1, 2006, and was named in honor of Joan Gamper, founder of the club....
, took over the function of the residential center for the youngsters.
History
La Masia was an old country residence, built in 1702, before its purchase by FC Barcelona in 1954. The football club initially used La Masia as a workshop for the architects and builders of its new stadium, Camp NouCamp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
. After Camp Nou was inaugurated on 24 September 1957, La Masia was closed down. Under the presidency of Enric Llaudet
Enric Llaudet
Enric Llaudet Ponsa was a Catalan businessman and sports leader who chaired FC Barcelona between 1961 and 1968.-Biography:...
, the building was remodeled and extended; it reopened as an office for the club's headquarters on 26 September 1966. La Masia could not accommodate the increasing number of employees as the club grew, and president Josep Núñez
Josep Lluís Nuñez
Josep Lluís Núñez i Clemente was president of FC Barcelona between 1978 and 2000. Núñez also owns the Núñez i Navarro construction company and Núñez i Navarro Hotels chain. He was elected club president on 1 July 1978 despite having no previous connection with the club...
remodelled it in 1979 to house a young academy of players who came from outside of Barcelona. The idea for the youth academy was proposed to Núñez by Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
, a former player who was a youth-product from the Ajax Academy. Núñez installed Oriol Tort as director.
One of the first graduates of the academy was the midfielder Guillermo Amor
Guillermo Amor
Guillermo Amor Martínez is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a versatile midfielder.After playing most of his professional career with FC Barcelona, winning several accolades in 10 seasons, he ended it in Scotland, with Livingston...
, who débuted in 1988. Amor went on to play 311 La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
matches for the first team. Two years later, he was followed by goalkeeper Carles Busquets
Carles Busquets
Carles Busquets Barroso is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper, mostly for FC Barcelona.-Football career:...
and midfielder Josep Guardiola
Josep Guardiola
Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala , is a Spanish football manager and former player. Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career with FC Barcelona, whom he currently manages. He was part of Johan Cruyff's dream team that won Barcelona's first European Cup....
. All three made their first team début under Cruyff, who was made manager of the first team in 1988. The team played to Cruyff's tiki-taka philosophy, derived from total football
Total Football
"Total Football" is the label given to an influential tactical theory of association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was pioneered by Dutch football club Ajax from 1969 to 1973, and further used by the Netherlands National Football...
, which has often been attributed as a key component in Barcelona's later success and international appeal. Guardiola matured into a total-football midfielder, and became a source of inspiration for later midfielders from La Masia, such as Xavi Hernández
Xavi
Xavier Hernández i Creus , commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi , is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career....
, Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....
and Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
. Xavi, who was Guardiola's understudy for three years, said in 2010 that he once considered transferring abroad because of the pressure and high expectations placed on him to fill Guardiola's role in the midfield.
Guardiola was appointed the new coach of FC Barcelona B
FC Barcelona B
Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their...
in May 2007. At that time, the team was in organisational disarray as it entered the fourth tier of Spanish football. The relegation of the B team was a cause in the disbanding of FC Barcelona C
FC Barcelona C
Fútbol Club Barcelona C was a Spanish football team that folded on 2 July 2007. The youth team of FC Barcelona, it played home games at the Mini Estadi....
, which played in that league. In Guardiola's re-organisation of the reserve side, he made places available in Barcelona B to players above the age of 21; his aim was to increase competition within the team and help it advance into a more competitive league. He divided the players into two categories: "pearls", which was composed of the young players, and the "backbone", which was mostly composed of those who were more mature. The "backbone players" were between 21 and 26 years old and they stayed in the B team for a maximum of two years before being sold. Guardiola said the two-year duration was to allow for room to constantly develop youth players.
After re-organising the youth side, Guardiola convinced club president Laporta of the need for better training facilities, and the youth teams moved to La Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
The Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper is the training ground and academy base of Catalan football club, FC Barcelona, it was officially opened on June 1, 2006, and was named in honor of Joan Gamper, founder of the club....
, where Laporta had various technical laboratories installed so the coaches could follow the training more closely. By the end of the 2007–08 season, Barcelona B was promoted to the third tier, Segunda B, and, at the end of 2009–10, to the second tier Segunda, which was the top-tier for a reserve team (the first-team plays in the Primera Division
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
).
La Masia received more publicity after Barcelona B's success with homegrown players; Rory Smith reported in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that La Masia "has replaced the fabled Ajax Academy as football's foremost production line." The recent fame and success of La Masia as a talent school was ascribed by Ian Hawkey of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to the class of 1987, which featured prominent members as Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
, Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
, Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a central defender for FC Barcelona.A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping...
and Pedro Rodríguez
Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma
Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma , commonly known as Pedro or Pedrito, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as a forward or winger....
. In 2000, Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...
, coach of FC Barcelona's first team, was widely ridiculed by the city sports media for his dream to win the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
with 11 home-grown players. The first team won the trophy in 2009 with eight home-grown players.
In the 30 years since La Masia's inauguration, more than 500 youngsters have left their homes and families to stay at the academy. About half of them were from Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, and the rest came from other regions of the Kingdom of Spain and beyond, including 15 from Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, 7 from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, 5 from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and 3 from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Of those 500, about 10 percent made it into the first team.
Organisation
La Masia houses about 60 players: 10 in the farmhouse, and the rest in rooms of the adjacent stadium; the rest of the youth players must provide for their own accommodation.The academy is one of the most expensive in Europe, operating at a cost of £5 million a year. The main cost is the dormitory, La Masia itself. The minimum age for the youth program is six years; each year, more than 1,000 boys from the ages of six to eight try out for admittance. The best 200 are selected. The club also actively seeks for prospective students; it employs a system in which 15 scouts are deployed in Catalonia, 15 in the rest of Spain and 10 scattered throughout the world. To alleviate the expenses of this scouting, the club has an agreement with 15 local clubs for them to train players who are not ready for entry into the youth academy. In return, FC Barcelona gives money, coaching and technical advice to these clubs for their services. While expanding its operations abroad, the club established five schools in Mexico and one in Egypt; successful applicants to these schools become full-time students, receiving academic education and football training.
When Guardiola re-organised the reserve side, he set up a three-staged program to formalise the advancement from Juvenil to Barcelona B and finally to the first team. The first stage of a youth player's career involves a rotation scheme with Barcelona B. The second stage involves making the player aware of his importance to the team, and expects the player to improve cohesion and performance within the reserve side. In the last stage, he is designated a "key" player of the B team and might be called to the first team. One of the players in the third phase is made captain, regardless of the experience of older players.
The teams at Barcelona play from August to May; mild weather at La Masia allows players to train outdoors throughout the year. The youth teams train after school; Barcelona B and C, as professional teams, train in the morning and evening. All of the trainers at FC Barcelona are former professional footballers.
FC Barcelona B
FC Barcelona B
Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their...
, the club's main youth team, and the 12 other youth teams contained 24 coaches and more than 300 players. There are 56 other employees, including doctors, psychologists, nutritionists, cooks and physiologists. In the 2009–10 season, the B team qualified for the Segunda División again. Barcelona B play in a 4-3-3 formation
Formation (football)
In association football, the formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the pitch. Different formations can be used depending on whether a team wishes to play more attacking or defensive football....
, which is the same formation employed by the first team.
| Squad | Age | Size | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona B FC Barcelona B Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their... |
– | 26 | Eusebio Sacristán |
| Juvenil A | 16–18 | – | Óscar García |
| Juvenil B | 16–18 | – | |
| Cadet A | 14–15 | – | – |
| Cadet B | 14–15 | – | – |
| Infantil A | 13–14 | – | – |
| Infantil B | 13–14 | – | – |
| Alevi A | 11–12 | – | – |
| Alevi B | 11–12 | – | – |
| Benjamí A | 9–10 | – | – |
| Benjamí B | 9–10 | – | – |
| Prebenjamí | 7–8 | – | – |
Philosophy
Former technical director, Pep Segura, attributes the club's success to its "philosophy of play": "It is about creating one philosophy, one mentality, from the bottom of the club to the top". The philosophy consists of the application of total footballTotal Football
"Total Football" is the label given to an influential tactical theory of association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was pioneered by Dutch football club Ajax from 1969 to 1973, and further used by the Netherlands National Football...
mixed with traditional Spanish one-touch play (tiqui-taka). The total football approach was derived from the Netherlands football team through Cruyff. The total football approach requires the players to move in a fluid formation, where players can interchange positions quickly. In the youth academy, there is a large focus on technical ability, which is seen as a pre-requisite for inter-changes. An often-quoted reason for Barcelona's success is the continuity and commitment with which Barcelona follow the current philosophy of pass and move. Guardiola was the prototype of the pivotal midfielder; current midfielders Xavi and Iniesta are its custodians.
Another aspect of La Masia is its marked catalan national character—local talent in the service of a club with a strong, defining sense of the cultural make-up of Catalonia. The supporters often prefer locally-developed players to foreign players if the players are equally talented. In this way, the emphasis on homegrown talent concurs with UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
's attempts to curb the influx of foreign players in clubs. The head of UEFA, Michel Platini said: "Barcelona represent my philosophy, not only for the game, but also for the training of athletes".
Impact
In 2009, Messi became the first player from La Masia to be awarded with the Ballon d'Or prize for the best footballer in Europe, and the FIFA World Player award, for the best footballer in the world. Other La Masia alumni who finished in the top five in that year's balloting include Xavi and Iniesta.On 11 July 2010, Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
won the World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
final
2010 FIFA World Cup Final
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 11 July 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, to determine the winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0 with a goal from Andrés Iniesta four minutes from the end of extra time...
with eight players from Barcelona; seven were from La Masia, and six of them were in the starting line-up: Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a central defender for FC Barcelona.A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping...
, Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol i Saforcada is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.Mainly a central defender, he can also play on either flank, especially as a right back...
, Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....
, Xavi Hernández
Xavi
Xavier Hernández i Creus , commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi , is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career....
, Sergio Busquets, and Pedro Rodríguez
Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma
Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma , commonly known as Pedro or Pedrito, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as a forward or winger....
. This set a record for the most players to be provided by a club side for a team in a World Cup final. A Reuters report suggested that Spain's World Cup success was possibly due to La Masia; other factors mentioned were economic development and luck. Joachim Löw, coach of Germany, said after his side's defeat by Spain that the opposition 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."
On 6 December 2010, FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
announced that the top 3 finalists for the newly created FIFA Ballon d'Or
FIFA Ballon d'Or
The FIFA Ballon d'Or is an association football award given annually to the player who is considered to have performed the best in the previous season...
are Xavi, Lionel Messi, and Andrés Iniesta. This marks only the third time in the history of the "World's best" award that one team has provided all three players for the final three positions, and the first time that one youth academy has produced the final three players.
Alumni
Below is sortable list of La Masia alumni who have played in more than 50 professional top-tier league games, or currently play for the Barcelona first team. Only league appearances and goals are included.| Name | Position | Year of birth | Appearances | Goals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="left"| | Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1975 | 1995–2009 | Villareal | |||
| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1967 | 1988–2002 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1982 | 2000– ¤ | Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups... |
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| Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1971 | 1993–2002 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Goalkeeper | 1967 | 1990–1999 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1988 | 2008– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1988 | 2006– ¤ | Volga FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod is a Russian football club from Nizhny Novgorod, founded in 1963. In 2008, FC Volga won the Ural-Povolzhye zone of the Russian Second Division and advanced to the Russian First Division. It finished First Division as 4th in 2009 and finished one as 2nd in 2010 and... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1974 | 1994–2010 | Alavés Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country. Founded in 1921, it plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at the 19,500-seater Estadio Mendizorrotza.... |
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| align="left"| | Forward | 1989 | 2007– ¤ | Tottenham Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
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| align="left"| | Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1987 | 2004– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1970 | 1990–2003 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| align="left"| | Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1979 | 1999– ¤ | Sion FC Sion FC Sion is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home games at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and the Swiss Cup in each of their twelve appearances in the final, the most recent being in 2011.The first team also... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1978 | 1999– ¤ | Puebla | ||||
| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1971 | 1990–2006 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1980 | 1998– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| align="left"| | Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1984 | 2002– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| align="left"| | Forward | 1990 | 2007– ¤ | Roma A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s... |
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| Forward | 1987 | 2004– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1982 | 2001– ¤ | Internazionale F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always... |
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| Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1982 | 2001– ¤ | Sevilla Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA... |
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| align="left"| | Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1987 | 2005– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
1976 | 1995– ¤ | Espanyol RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. It is best known for its football team. Espanyol currently play in the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with seats for 40,500 spectators. It was inaugurated on 2 August 2009... |
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| Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1980 | 2002– ¤ | Ajax | ||||
| Defender Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
1978 | 1999– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| Goalkeeper | 1982 | 2002– ¤ | Liverpool | ||||
| Forward | 1987 | 2007– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
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| align="left"| | Goalkeeper | 1982 | 2002– ¤ | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
Transport
- Barcelona MetroBarcelona MetroThe Barcelona Metro , part of the public transportation system of Barcelona, Catalonia, is an extensive network of electrified railways that run underground in central Barcelona and above ground into the city's suburbs. Since July 31, 2010, Barcelona Metro system consists of 11 lines with 165...
– Maria CristinaMaria Cristina (Barcelona Metro)Maria Cristina is a Barcelona Metro station , in addition to a Trambaix stop, served by lines T1, T2 and T3.It's located in Avinguda Diagonal, between carrer del Doctor Ferran and Gran Via de Carles III, in front of the La Caixa headquarters, in La Maternitat i Sant Ramon, in the district of Les...
(on L3Barcelona Metro line 3— Line 3, currently known as Zona Universitària - Trinitat Nova, coloured green and often simply referred to as Línia verda , is a metro line in Barcelona operated by TMB, and therefore part of the fare-integrated ATM transport network of the urban region...
); BadalBadal (Barcelona Metro)Badal is a station on line 5 of the Barcelona Metro.The station is located underneath Carrer de Sants, between Carrer Arizala and Carrer Sant Feliu de Guíxols...
and CollblancCollblanc (Barcelona Metro)Collblanc is a station on line 5 of the Barcelona Metro.The station is located underneath Carretera de Collblanc in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, between Travessera de les Corts and Carrer Francesc Layret. It was opened in 1969 and served as terminus until the extension to Pubilla Cases in 1973. The...
(both on L5Barcelona Metro line 5— Line 5, currently known as Cornellà Centre - Vall d'Hebron, its termini, and often simply called "Línia Blava" is line belonging to the Barcelona Metro network operated by TMB, and part of the ATM fare-integrated transport network....
).