Is The System Working??
By: Corey | July 24th, 2008
Ever since I took over this blog on this very good site (1 year ago on the 28th, birthday celebrations will begin next week dont worry) I have emphasized the importance in the developing youth through an academy system. Let me explain how this came about. Having been an academy player myself for a little while, I was part of a few local football clubs including BC United of Binghamton in middle school, the I split my time between that and Syracuse FC’s youth academy for a few years in highschool, while also doing two summers in Rochester with U of Rochester’s D1 college team training for a spot on the team and a scholarship that I decided against, but thats more personal details we wont get into.
I personally understand to a degree what it is like to be an academy player. The US system is different then the European system, but there are similarities. My personal opinion is that it was awesome to do something I loved so deeply everyday looking back at it. At the time I hated it, I was rarely home, always played tournaments on weekends, and found football to be more of a labor than a joy, which lead to me giving up on soccer all together. I stopped playing at all for a year after my highschool soccer team lost in our sectional final. I eventually was coaxed into training with my schools D3 team for a little while, just practice matches, and thats about all I do these days, pick up games and intramurals. I wont set foot in a dome to play mens league and I dont have my ref badges anymore.
But I have the itch again, after I shot around with a few guys last week at a highschool, and noticed I could stay place a 40 yard ball into the top corner of the ball fairly accurately. But my skills are limited, I know this, so I just enjoy what I can do and dont dwell on my limitations. Okay, so their was more personal details than needed to be, but the years I spent as a young player being developed by coaches left an impression on me. It made me understand how important coaching is to a players development, and it also helped me identify one of the last remaining aspects of the pre-globalization of football. A teams academy system is that, its where the local lads learn how to play football, and if there real good, they may become a pro. Of course its not all local boys, but the idea is these young players grow up with the team as their goal, and when this goal is acheived it is a beautiful experience.
Nothing in football is ever straight forward, so even club icon Raul is not 100% Real, having originally played for Atletico. But when you see a player like Ruben de la Red wearing the Real kit, or Miguel Torres, Iker Casillas, Guti, or even to a lesser extent Soldado, does it not fill you with pride? But besides the pride, you know that these players were developed with what the club believes is important foundations for young footballers, and that this method will yield better results on the field and sounder finances off it. Becuase an academy is much cheaper to run then a Cristiano Ronaldo is to buy.
So my self professed love of youth football aside, my question to the reader is, does the system Real Madrid has adapted in the past three years work?
The system I am referring to is of course the Academy, then the Castilla team, then either Real’s first team or a loan/sale with buy back clause out. The general patern of recent years has seem exciting talents from the C and B team promoted to the Castilla team regardless of age. 18 year olds begin playing against semi-professional men in the third tier of Spanish football, usually not a fair match. If they show enough promise they are mentioned for the first team. Sometimes they train with the first team, making a few appearances, or they are loaned out to a team for more first team exposure. The new trend is the buy back clause, which allows players to develop at a club for more than 1 year, with Real able to re-purchase these players if they see fit. Generally, players do return to Real as they typically impress. The question is, does this system work? My answer is yes, but I want to know yours. Before you answer, consider the loan system in England and its effects on youth development. Also remeber that Real’s vast first team offers limited playing time to 20 year olds who are still unpolished.
The next aspect of this question is to gadge the succes of the youth teams, particularly Castilla. The Castilla team finds no first team players in it, only youth under the age of 23 (generally). Second question then is this the right way to be using our reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla, even if they are in the third division? Do the young players get the exposure they need in this team even if they are in the third division, or would it help if a few first teamers played in the reserves from time to time to help the Castilla team back to the Segunda?
The third aspect is do the youth players get the exposure they need to the Real first team? Do they train enough with them, do they interact with the staff, and do the players truely believe that they can make it to the first team some day?
The final question is, if this system is inefficient or yields to few prospects, how would you improve it?
My answers will come once I have seen what everyone else has to say. And dont call me lazy because this isnt a real editorial, that will come after I gadge the reaction of all you Real fans out their. So let me know what your thoughts are on this, more is appreciated.
Category: Team News
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Comments
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firstly Corey great post. Nice to mention the castilla and academy boys. Since most of the time we talk about the first team. I for one follow the castilla team every year and nothing makes me prouder than seeing one of the youths making the first team. Everyone knows that not all of them are good enough for the first team but every once in a while we get a gem of a player coming through. I like the fact that we loan our players out or sell them with a buy back option coz it gives them the playing time they need in order to develop. What really upsets me is that our coach Schuster has no faith in them. He says the division gap is to much. In my eyes thats just rubbish. Look at Bojan from Barca. He was playing in the third division but was called to the first team last year. And what a player he turned out to be. Schuster just doesn’t want to use our youth. When he was coaching Getafe he wanted De La Red and Soldado now that he is our coach he doesnt want them. Lets hoped that Ruben actually plays this year.
Posted from
Germany
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I don’t mind the loan program, I’ll say that first. Real will always attract some of the world’s best talents, and that’s nearly impossible competition for an 18 year old. And it’s clear that Castilla players who get more La Liga starting time develop faster – think Negrado, Soldado, De la Red, Granero, Garcia, etc. But then again, what happened with Soldado raises some concerns. He looked pretty damn dangerous at Osasuna, but lost in the few moments he had a chance for Real. I know this comes back to an older conversation about Schuster’s Castilla acumen – and I’d still like to see that change. We’ll see with De la Red this season.
But I think advancing the Castilla is an important goal. Segunda would be ideal. Though the second league is a far, far cry from the first in Spain, the level of competition would still make the players that much more prepared for La Liga football. To attain that goal, you’d have to rely on the players staying longer with Castilla, but that’s no gaurantee, because of how popular it is for big clubs to poach young players. You keep a kid in a lower league who’s itching to play on the big stage, and some old man’s gonna come around with a lot of money and convince him to abandon. (Granted, Real is sometimes that old man, but not nearly as often as Barcelona is.) It’s a tricky situation.
Posted from
United States -
With regards to our system working i would say that a really loyal player will bide his time and wait for that chance to break into the first team. examples like De la Red like. But then we also get that really talented players who cant wait and doesnt know if he will ever break into the first team. We lose so many players every year there are so many to name like Gerardo Bruna, David Moreno, Juan Mata. just to name a few. With Madrid being the richest club they dont give the youth much of a chance and rather splash crazy money around. I remember Javi Garcia playing in the first team back in 2006 if we kept him in the squad then already he wouldn of been a really good player and would of saved us lots of money but thats not what we did. And thats why we bought Diarra and Gago. I can go on all day about this but i wont. Great post Corey im sure everyone will have lots to say about this topic.
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gr8 post,mate.i would definitely love to have more players frm castilla in the first team but there are a lot of things to be considered else.giving chances to younsters is cool but should it come at the cost of success.in today’s environment until u win the league for sure no match is an easy one.so to give a chance to a kid who has played all his life in the lower leagues is a huge gamble and is most unfair on the player himself.even if its a home match against say valladolid,to play ur first ever match in front of 60,000 screaming supporters is one hell of a daunting thing.also in a big club as ours , where the emphasis is on winning all the time and doing so in style,its inevitable that the staff would give a youngster far less attention than wat he would receive at a smaller club.and since the coaches are under pressure too,they would ofcourse prefer to bring in readymade superstars with whom the risk is lesser than to hand a cap to a youngster.i think that is what has happened under schuster.at getafe he had to work with youngsters.he had no other option and far less pressure to deliver.switch him to a club where the managers lose their seat faster dan ppl do in a rodeo hand him a huge tranfer purse nd he would ofcourse want to do something which allows him to be more secure.i personally like what we are currently doing.loaning out or selling players out and then bringing them back if they prove to be successful.y take a gamble urself when there are others lot more willing to do that.
but we have to make sure that if we do bring the kids back,that they are given a chance to succeed and not left to warm the bench.if we bring back someone just to leave him in a balboa or soldado like situation,why would a youngster like to return ???another reason why giving chances to youngsters is neccessary is rather practical.we have to do it if we want to attract promising youngsters to the club in the future.if we don’t then kids won’t want to join the cantera because they will be thinking that they won’t be given a chance to prove themselves.so while i am completely in agreement with the club’s new tactics of loaning out and buy-backs,the situation that developed with balboa and soldado is rankling.let the kids grow and gain the mental toughness required to succeed elsewhere but if u bring them back then trust them to succeed.Posted from
Ecuador -
Cracking post, Corey – the personal references actually help to bring it to life, so, as long as you’re comfortable sharing, bring it on.
The concept of the Academy / reserves/ Castilla (call it wqhat you will) is I think, sound. It makes sense to nurture young talent to the point of supplying the first team with good quality players without having to pay astronomical fees to get them. There is also good sense, in my opinion in ‘blooding’ the youngsters on another first division side for one or two years to see whether they have what it takes.
The problem is that so few *do* have what it takes. But is that a surprise? Only eleven can play at any given time, and really, the main squad has perhaps 16 or 17 players regularly playing out of the 25 registered with the league. The demands on a Real Madrid first teamer are about as high as they can be, so I think that we are just not producing the talent that we need at the top level. How many Castilla players who were the next star are now plying their trade in top teams? None I can really think of. The only exception I would make here is that of Samuel Eto’o, whose talent is unarguable, but who I think has a problem with his attitude – but that’s another story.
So the question really is why is the Real Academy system not producing the goods? It’s either that the youngsters who will make it are not being spotted early enough (if that is actually possible) or that they’re not being coached to their full potential once they get there. The fact that Castilla is no longer in the second division deprives these players of the chance to get regular games at a high enough level of competition to thrive.
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I agree real rock, that the pressure and expectations level for Real Madrid makes it even tougher to blood youngsters. But then again, Barca threw Bojan into the mix and he has done really well. Dos Santos, Messi, Iniesta, they all were sorta gradually introduced, but a squad position was always there. We cant even guarentee a few substitute appearances for our young lads, such is the amount of players we have in the first team as well as the unwillingness of a coach to play them. I think alot of the blame rests solely on Schusters shoulders, because the jump in divisions is not that great, 18 year olds playing in the third division is a great accomplishment in itself. But Mijatovic, Portugal, Calderon could put more emphasis on the integration of youth team players as well. They dont need to be meddling with the coaches plans, but like this summer, they have made few additions, recalling two youngsters and integrating 4 from Castilla. But will these players get a shot to play? I dont think so, and its not because they arent good enough. But when you spend 15 million on Gago, does it make sense not to play him over De la Red, who cost you nothing more than a youth contract? You can take a look at this problem so many different ways, and based on the answers you guys and gals provide, I will write a post trying to sum it all up.
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Gonzalo, part of the problem with Real is they only want star players. But I can safely say that Arbeloa, Jurado, Jaunfran, Negredo, Mata, Callejon, Adrian Gonzalez, Granero, Agus, Nieto, Balboa, Portillo, Soldado, Codina, Casilla, Cobeno, Valdo, Cambiasso etc. are all good enough to play for Real Madrid. I realize players rarely stick to one club their whole life these days, but out of that group, who really had a shot at the first team? Cambiasso, Balboa a bit and Soldado even less. Portillo was never trusted even though he had the most potential, Nieto is a great player already, while Mata, Jurado and Arbeloa were part of our last very promising generation. I recognize not every player can play for Real some day, but it seems the ones with the best chance dont even get a shot too, which is sad, and begs the question, if we will use only one youth team player a year, why do we even have an academy?
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And Etoo was 15 when he was signed, and wasnt allowed to play for Castilla because back then no non-EU players could play in the Segunda divisions (They were in B at the time). He was loaned out to Leganes, Espanyol, and then Mallorca. He made only three appearances for Real before being sold to Mallorca in a strange loan/buy-back deal where Madrid made a tidy profit when Mallorca sold him to Barca. I dont consider him a youth product at all, actually I am ashamed that such a player was ever associated with Real, such is his nature I detest and the fact that he was just one of many pawns Florentino Perez used for a big payoff. Did I ever mention Florentino Perez is a bad, bad man?
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My point with all the youth players that Real have allowed to “move on” is: where are they now? If they really were good enough to play for Real Madrid right now, they would surely be playing regularly for a top club somewhere. From your list, I think there are three that could conceivably fall in that category. The rest haven’t (yet) made it:
Arbeloa – Liverpool. Was also called up for Spain this summer. Hopefully has a bright future ahead.
Balboa – Benfica. Let’s see what Quique can do with him.
Cambiasso – Inter. Probably the best of the bunch here. I was sorry to see him go.Jurado – Mallorca (on loan from Atlético where he was not getting the playing time)
Juanfran – Osasuna
Negredo – Almería
Mata – Valencia (I’m split on Mata – he’s done well at Valencia, but the jury’s out on the club as a whole – let’s see how he does this season)
Callejón – Espanyol (too early to call – top scorer for Castilla is not the same as scoring 15-20 in Primera División)
Adrián González – Getafe
Granero – Getafe
Agus – Celta (isn’t he on loan, rather than transferred out?)
Nieto – Almería
Portillo – Osasuna (has never really exploded the way he was meant to)
Soldado – Getafe – probably (if he were good enough, why was he ostracised all of last season? – another wait and see, but I wonder if he’s another Portillo in the making)
Codina (still at Real as far as I know, but is he better than Casillas?)
Casilla – Espanyol (he wasn’t even first pick at Castilla)
Cobeño – Sevilla (spent last season on loan to Almería i.e. still an unfinished product)
Valdo – Espanyol (spent 5 years at Osasuna. Decent player, not spectacular)For the ones that are still in their early twenties, there is still the chance that they could make their way up. But you only have to take a look at the likes of Sneijder (), Ramos ()
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Oops! I truncated my own comment.
I meant to say you only have to look at the likes of Sneijder (24), Ramos (22), Pepe (22), Robinho (24), Robben (24) and even possibly Gago (22), Marcelo (20) and Drenthe (21) to see why they don’t get a look in.
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That is very true Gonzalo. We have a list of exceptional young talent we have bought from other teams that doesnt help the Castilla players situation, and while I am not against this policy, shouldnt it be a combination of buying a Drenthe and promoting a Nieto to the first team, instead of buying Drenthe and Robben? We already have Robinho, so why did we buy Robben? (Dont answer the question in terms of me not liking the player)
The players are all at La Liga clubs, and are either starters or capable backups in the case of the keepers. A players natural talent will only go so far, but his abilities can be expanded with the proper training and exposure to the type of opposition Real plays (CL) as well as the situations Real plays in (80,000 screaming fans at the Bernabeu, every season in the hunt for trophies). So while these players are decent La Liga types, dont you think alot of them had the potential to play for Real? I do, because I could have listed a bunch of other players who have left the Castilla team in the past 5 years that were not good enough, like Raul Bravo, Pavon, or Tote.
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United States -
the reason we bought robben is that he was the easiest to get of the three caldo promised to sign.so ofcourse how can el presidente go back on his word.never mind dat we were completely fleeced by chelski for him.a promise is a promise after all.
and as for the nieto question.well two things really.one bringing in robben was far more high profile and caught more eyeballs.second,he is really good(atleast when he is not with the potter,he is more delicate dan china) and with him the risk was far lesser.i like nieto,though.it would b interesting to see how he performs in the liga.we should go down the granero route with him.
and i don´t think juanfran is all that great(despite corey being seemingly a fan)while protillo simply didn´t light up liga the way he was expected.i really would like more castilla grads in d 1st team but i agree with the current policy of loans nd buybacks.but as i said b4,if v bring back someone who has shown that he can perform,then he has to be given a chance.and by that i don´t mean a friendly match or a match in the copa del rey 1st round.Posted from
Ecuador -
would someone have any news about gerardo bruna??? dat kid is really good.won´t touch him a ten-foot pole though now. bloody greedy pig.i hope he suffers the same fate as poor portillo.i really don´t understand why all these kids run off 2 snob-country(no offense to english madridistas) just because they are offered a contract 1 year earlier.its not as if they are handed multi-million contracts.okay,a bit of news about david moreno will b coool 2.nd somehow i keep getting the feeling dat javi garcia is gonna get some pitch time atleast despite having diarra nd gago ahead of him in d pecking order.he can play at centre-back and since we don´t have ezzy-g(u d inventor of dat,corey) and metzelder is unlikely to get sinews of steel to replace his clay ones all of a sudden he will b filling in for cannavaro or pepe quite a lot.nice thing,i guess.hierro started off in midfield too.mayb garcia will follow in d footsteps of el gran capitan.
Posted from
Ecuador -
About Gerardo Bruna he is currently playing for Liverpool reserves and what a reserve team Liverpool has. They won 3 titles in the last 2 years. Benitez is really building a nice bunch of youngsters there. I hear great things about Bruna from a few of my friends who support liverpool. And about David Moreno he unfortunately left us. Almeria offered him a pro contract and he just could not refuse. So he will be linking up with Negredo and Nieto. There u go real rock hope i helped u out with a few things about Bruna and Moreno.
Posted from
United States -
forca real madrid champion and spain macedonia tetov
Posted from
United States
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