Marco
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Geplaatst: Za 28 aug 2010 21:20
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Season preview:
[list">Ideologies clash as Barcelona and Real Madrid prepare for La Liga duel
Barcelona will again look to rely on graduates of their academy to repel the threat of Real Madrid in the coming La Liga season.
A tiny stone farmhouse conquered the world, according to Joan Laporta. "Barça," he insisted after Spain's success in South Africa, "won the World Cup. It's just that they were wearing the wrong shirts". The outgoing president of FC Barcelona, a vociferous Catalan nationalist, provocateur and campaigner, now embarked upon a bid for the presidency of the Catalan Generalitat, Laporta would say that. But here's the thing: he may just have a bit of a point.
Spain's coach, Vicente del Bosque, is from Salamanca and played for Real Madrid, while the captain, Iker Casillas, was born in the Spanish capital and still does. So does Sergio Ramos, who is from Seville, and Xabi Alonso, from the Basque country. Joan Capdevila is Catalan but plays for Villarreal. Counting the Asturias-born David Villa as a Barcelona player before he had been unveiled at the Camp Nou is pushing it. But still, six of the starting XI that defeated Holland were Barcelona players.
Although not all Catalan, Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez (from Tenerife), Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta (from Albacete) did come through the Barcelona system. So did one of the substitutes, Cesc Fábregas. Also in the squad were Víctor Valdés and Pepe Reina, the club's current goalkeeper and one who spent seven years at Barça before leaving for Villarreal and subsequently Liverpool. And the world's, if not the World Cup's, best player came through Barcelona's youth system too: Leo Messi joined aged 12.
Like more than 500 kids over the years, Messi lived at La Masía, the Barcelona residency and spiritual home of their youth system – even those who never actually lived there are presented as 'La Masía graduates'. A traditional Catalan farmhouse, dwarfed by the Camp Nou, La Masía is a kind of football indoctrination centre. It is not just that it has produced very good players, it is that it has produced a certain type – a Johan Cruyff-inspired production line of clever, technical footballers, determined to play "the right way".
Barcelona's football identity is clear. Advantageous too, with José Mourinho noting: "They could play blindfolded." It runs through the club, making that final, frightening leap for young players a little easier. Many have been coached by Pep Guardiola when he led the B team. "The philosophy of the youth team is the same as the first team," Jonathan Dos Santos says. Mourinho admits that Madrid by contrast must still find an identity.
Barça are not the only beneficiaries. Spain's success has been attributed not only to Barcelona's players but to their identity. "Tell me who your central midfielder is and I'll tell you what kind of football you play," runs the phrase. Spain's is Xavi, bringing La Masía to la selección. That too was what Laporta was getting at. Creating special players almost creates a moral superiority. "Madrid buy European footballers of the Year," Laporta says, "we make them."
As the new season gets under way this weekend, the feeling is stronger than ever. The World Cup reinforced the Masía model. That fact that Barcelona face Mourinho has an impact too; he has become a cartoon baddie for Catalunya. A candidate for the Camp Nou job, Laporta eventually opted for Guardiola, saying: "We chose a philosophy, not a brand."
This season's face-off has become a caricature. On one side, the committed club man, "suckled from the teat of Cruyff" as one colleague puts it, and all his team of apprentices, artists and world champions. On the other, the arrogant, preening manager and his expensive mercenaries. The arrival of Mesut Ozil, Madrid's sixth signing, provoked the inevitable cover. The Catalan newspaper Sport declared this campaign "cantera versus cartera". Youth team versus wallet.
While David Villa cost Barcelona €40m, even more youth team players are coming through. Dos Santos, Thiago Alcántara, Oriol Romeu and Sergi Gómez have all played significant roles in pre-season and Bojan Krkic's position has been reinforced. None was born before 1990. "When it comes to strengthening the team we'll always look at the youth teams first," the new sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, says. The counterargument comes from the Spanish Super Cup: with four Barça B team players in the starting XI, they lost 3-1 to Sevilla; in the second leg, with none, they won 4-0.
But Barcelona will press ahead anyway. The policy is presented as a moral imperative, but it is an economic one too. "If Barcelona signed their own home-grown players, they could do so for a billion euros," former player Hristo Stoichkov says. It is meant as a boast. It is also a reality. Last year Barcelona lost €70m. Their total debt tops €440m. A year after arriving Dimitro Chygrynskiy was sold, at a loss, to recuperate cash. Yaya Touré has left. Fábregas, the youth teamer they tried to sign, was beyond their reach. Under the new president, Sandro Rosell, they have spent only €9.5m. "We can't compete with Madrid for zeros," Guardiola says.
The hope is that they will not have to. After all, Guardiola adds: "I have lots of faith in the players coming through." Why would he not? If Barcelona's farmhouse could conquer the world, conquering Mourinho to win the title should hold no fear.
# source: Guardian[/list">
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