La Masia, the academy that holds a special place in the hearts of Camp Nou
fnas, is undisputedly renowned for supplying Barcelona's first team with
world-class players across various positions. Even fans of other clubs
worldwide acknowledge La Masia's superiority over other academies, considering
it the premier source of talent in European football.
As part of our commitment at Goal Reader Blog to provide you with all the
essential information on various football topics, we'll explore La Masia
together and its impact on both players and managers.
La Masia: When was it founded, and what was Cruyff's role?
Let's start our discussion by recognizing the man who played the biggest role
in shining the spotlight on La Masia, and by exploring the history of this
academy:
In fact, La Masia was established 54 years ago, in 1970.
However, the academy didn't have the impact we see today in terms of producing
stars for various European clubs until Dutch legend Johan Cruyff took charge
of both the academy's technical direction and the first team coaching in 1988.
Cruyff then focused on instilling what's known as the concept of total
football in the Spanish team, which was later adopted by the club's best-ever
manager, Pep Guardiola, and other managers who followed the Dutchman.
La Masia's impact on players
Let's continue by examining the various effects of Barcelona's La Masia
academy on the club's players:
It often happens in world football that a talented star shines within one
team, but when they move to another, they fail to deliver the expected
performance. The reason is often summarised as "their style doesn't suit the
team's style."
This is where La Masia comes in. The theoretical knowledge and practical
guidance provided to La Masia players during their time at the academy
perfectly align with the approach required when joining Barcelona's first
team.
This impact is clearly evident in how players coming from La Masia adapt to
the first team from their very first experiences, as if they've spent years at
Camp Nou.
This effect can be strongly observed in the quick and impressive integration
of one of the most important players in Xavi Hernandez's current squad,
16-year-old Lamine Yamal. Despite this being the Spanish-Moroccan forward's
first season with the first team, he has found himself in an environment that
complements La Masia.
La Masia's impact on managers
Now let's look at La Masia's influence on the vision of managers teeped in its
philosophy:
After a player derives their footballing ideas from the world's premier
academy, La Masia, and after they've sprinkled the football magic they've
absorbed from the academy during their playing career, La Masia's role in
influencing their thinking as a coach comes into play.
Pep Guardiola - The most prominent example of La Masia's influence on managers
If we want to talk about the best period in Barcelona's history, there's no
dispute that it's the era the Catalan team spent under the leadership of the
manager some consider the best in history, Pep Guardiola.
The tiki-taka that La Masia's management courses always recommend following is
indeed what Guardiola implemented while coaching Barcelona's first team, which
he wouldn't have learned if he hadn't originally started his football career
with La Masia!
Guardiola then found himself leading a group of players who shared the same
mindset, namely those who had come up through La Masia, who were the most
prominent elements of his historical lineup at the time, such as Spanish
midfield legend Xavi Hernandez, his teammate Sergio Busquets, and Lionel
Messi.
Guardiola, who is considered an eternal icon among Barcelona fans, has managed
to prove the competitiveness and superiority of La Masia's approach in one of
the world's toughest leagues in England with the Citizens.
Now let's look at some of the most important legends who began their careers
with Spain's favourite academy, La Masia.
Lionel Messi - From La Masia to the world's best player
The name Lionel Messi alone is enough to express what La Masia can produce.
After being prepared in the best possible way at La Masia, the Argentinian
went on to dominate world football, with his career nearing its end with
individual and collective statistics that will be hard for any player to
replicate in the future.
It took Lionel only nine years after joining La Masia to win the most
important individual award for footballers, the Ballon d'Or, making him the
first La Masia player in history to win the award.
From our posts: What is a false nine ?, what are the Roles of False nine ?
Carles Puyol - From La Masia to one of the world's best defenders
The legends produced by La Masia can be found in various positions. In
defence, you'll find Spanish defensive legend Carles Puyol, nicknamed "The
Lion Heart."
Although Puyol may not enjoy the same media attention, he is considered one of
the best centre-backs in history and was a key pillar in Guardiola's Barcelona
lineup, which some consider the best team version in the history of the game.
Andrés Iniesta - From La Masia to one of the world's best midfielders
After telling you about the most prominent attack and defence legends produced
by La Masia for the Catalan team, let us inform you that Spanish midfielder
legend Andrés Iniesta is also a La Masia graduate.
Iniesta managed to prove himself from his very first moments with the Catalan
team until his departure from the club in 2018 as one of the best playmakers
in history.
In context of one of the best midfielders in football history let's find
out: Who Are the best 10 Midfielders of All Time ?
La Masia, Barcelona's last hope amid its current crises
We conclude by looking at the importance of La Masia in light of the Barcelona
current crisis:
As we know, Barcelona is currently going through an economic crisis that
hinders its ability to bring in the stars the team needs across various
positions. Laporta's administration is now only able to bring in players with
media fame but who have exhausted their brilliance outside Camp Nou's walls,
such as Polish Robert Lewandowski and Portuguese João Cancelo.
Therefore, La Masia is the last hope for the Catalan team's management to
secure their need for players who have a lot of passion on the football pitch.
La Masia has indeed managed to save the team to some extent during the current
period, through the players it provides who clearly stand out in the first
team lineup, such as the Spanish duo Gavi and Lamine Yamal.