What does "homegrown" mean in this context? I had thought that Pedro was picked up by Barca in the same trip to the Canary Islands when they got Jeffren, and that Pedro was only 16 at the time. That's not homegrown? Or do they have to be still younger than 16 when they join? EDIT: Oh! Or is he homegrown, but the issue is that he got his first first-team start with Rijkaard?
How come Pique doesn't count? Are we talking about Barça first team or just first team in general in which case his stint at ManU counts (boy how much do they wish they hadn't sold him for 5 million pounds)? Who else besides Pedro is homegrown, got his start under FR, and is still around? GDS and Bojan are gone. Messi is the only one I can think of.
I don't count Cesc as homegrown. I go by UEFA rules which are "spending three years between the ages of 16 and 21." He left at 16. Sure Barca is his childhood club, but he is not homegrown in my book.
While I agree, I like to have a set of rules to determine homegrown, and those are the ones UEFA specified, so I am going by those.
Impressive Pep stats: Plzen will be his 200th game as míster, and maybe Messi will bag his 200th goal.
that rule seems pretty arbitrary, especially the 16. it would make more sense if it was three years up to the age of 21. 6 years in la masia is 6 years in la masia, i don't care what word UEFA uses to define him.
Re: Where are the goals? This has probably been mentioned already, but Barca now outscoring opponents 26-0 in their 5 home wins this season. They *average* more than a manita when they win at home!
Re: Where are the goals? crazy and if you take out the 0-0 against sevilla, that's 26-0 in four games with an average of 6.5 goals a game!
Re: Where are the goals? I was exploring the club's redesigned website and came across something I didn't previously know about: the comittment card. For people like me who don't meet membership requirements, it's an interesting idea. You pay for your commitment card for 3 years (which basically gives you 0 benefits) - after that you can become a member. The rub is that you have to apply in person. 125 Euros/year is a lot for no benefits, but, since it's my only option, I'll probably get one when I go back to the Camp Nou in 2013 (hopefully).
Re: Where are the goals? Yeah, I've been thinking about this for a little bit now. Is there anyone else out there that's doing it as we speak? Natty, I thought there were *some* benefits to it -- just not those of a soci. Maybe I'm remembering that wrong?
Re: Where are the goals? It claims there were some, but the most discernible and important ones don't apply (advance access to buy tickets, namely). I haven't had much chance to look into it in detail but I want to tonight on my home machine...will report back here then.
Re: Where are the goals? Geez, considering all the empty seats at Camp Nou this year, you'd think they would make it a bit easier on fans.
Re: Where are the goals? I dont think there has been a major attendance change this year compared to previous years. Considering that I thought there was no way for foreigners to become members, I'm actually pretty happy about this. I just wish I had signed up when I was over there.
What happened to that big push a few years ago for 1 million (i think?) members? Was that the time to get in on the fun?
When Rossell got elected, he changed the membership rules to their current exclusionary type. The Laporta regime wanted as many members as possible.
will we ever see a British Asian football player in FC Barcelona I am Asian myself UK Indian but a question always comes in my mind that one day hopefully one day that their will be a british asian football player playing for fc barcelona i just want to share your thoughts and please no racism.
Re: will we ever see a British Asian football player in FC Barcelona are there many in the EPL? Michael Chopra is the only one that comes to mind
Re: will we ever see a British Asian football player in FC Barcelona I'm struggling to think of any Asian who has played for FCB. Paulino Alcantara is the obvious one. Still... Wikipedia: British-Asian footballers No disrespect to the OP but I honestly don't care about which nationalities play for Barca, be they British-Asians or Americans or Martians. If they're good enough, let them wear the Blaugrana.
Re: will we ever see a British Asian football player in FC Barcelona I agree with Usox. All this depends on things like where Barça sends scouts and how they evaluate talent. Anyway, does this discussion belong in another place, like the Youth thread?
Re: will we ever see a British Asian football player in FC Barcelona gio van bronckhorst is dutch, but of indonesian descent.
Merged into Season/General Discussion thread. Maybe there will be one from La Masia, maybe one gets transferred in, who knows? Or you can wait until 2035 when Monty Mutante, Jr. becomes the first Asian-American to score in the CL for the Blaugrana...