The Youth Thread | Even our kids win trebles | Barça B in La Segunda & other Blaugrana Kids

Going to put this here as it is really a La Masia / youth issue. The bright side of Brexit, Wenger and others cannot swoop in on our youngsters of 16 and 17 anymore, which has been a huge problem with EU membership combined with EPL money, and UK law allowing for 16 and 17 y.o.s to sign "adult" contracts there (which Spanish law doesn't permit).
http://www.sport-english.com/en/new...ted-kingdom-leaves-the-european-union-5226868

Now out of EU (or about to be out of EU, doesn't go into effect immediately), no longer can EPL teams cherry pick great teenagers from Spain and other EU countries.

 

Nice article re-capping the best teams and players of all the levels of La Masia, some a bit too young to really be on my radar much, but nice to see: http://www.totalbarca.com/2016/05/best-la-masia/#more-111

 

Samper will probably be loaned out next season:

Bartomeu: "Samper is one of those players who are interesting for the club. His high prospects for the future and footballing formation, along with his development as a person, perhaps lead the coaches to think that he has reached the limit within the B team and they are now too small for (his abilities). For this reason, Sergi Samper needs to keep growing and if he can not do this in the Barcelona first team, it is best that he does so in another team with the objective of returning to Barcelona's first team in a few years' time."

 

LaMasia players might still decide to move to EPL. but EPL clubs will no longer have the advantage of being able to offer pro contracts to 16 year olds, while spanish clubs have to wait till they are 18.

 

Yes, I believe that all were allowed to go to England as 16 or 17 year olds and sign "adult contracts" because England was in the Eurozone. Many others have done the same, not always to England, but English TV money and, as I understand it, their rules about paying 16 and 17 year olds adult contracts before that is allowed in Spain and most other Continental European countries, does make it the most popular destination. But we still have to worry about losing players to other places.

 

Very nice little summary of the background and positions of the 13 Barca B players who Luis Enrique has called up to train in the preseason with the first teamers who are available:
http://www.sport-english.com/en/new...-team-players-luis-enrique-has-called-5279365

 

Lee Seung-Woo starred in Barca B preseason friendly 2-0 win, the attached article also has highlights at the bottom: http://www.sport-english.com/en/news/barca/lee-seung-woo-shows-has-bright-future-barca-win-5286155

 

Some good news from this Sport article re the annual rush to sign La Masia 16 year olds by English teams was largely unsuccessful and should, following Brexit, be nonexistent in future seasons! http://www.sport-english.com/en/news/barca/masia-resisting-the-siege-from-the-premier-league-5338770

Excerpts:
This year, all the focus was placed on the players who were ending the Cadet age group (under-16) and were joining the Juvenile category. That was the case for Sergio Gomez, Jandro Orellana, Abel Ruiz, Miranda and the goalkeeper Rojas. They all had offers to move to England but finally decided to stay at the club.

Barça therefore assure themselves of the services of all their main prospects for one more year, as they consolidate their youth teams after a difficult year after the FIFA sanction.

Another piece of relevant good news is that the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union will lead to English clubs only being able to sign EU players from the age of 18.

Therefore, the likes of Pablo Moreno, Xavi Simons, Marc Pelaz, Alex Rico and Eric Garcia to state some names, will soon not be receiving tempting offers and Barça would be able to enjoy their play for many years.

 

Huge road win for Barca B as they try to get back to the Segunda, they beat Hercules 1-3, who are considered a rival for promotion. 6 goals and 6 points after 2 games. Short video:

EDIT - this story about our U-12 team went mainstream, we won a tournament in Japan beating a Japanese team in the final, other team was gutted to lose at home 0-1, then our team started consoling their team (video attached to bottom of story) and it got picked up as a good sportsmanship story: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/b...oles-crying-japanese-opponents-011837273.html

Here's the goal which won the game, the first time pass from the left back (#5) is a great one to spring #9:

 

This is the Infantil B squad.
The team they defeated was Omiya Ardija Junior.
Tournament was the U-12 Junior World Challenge Cup.
English version on club's website not available.
Catalan: https://www.fcbarcelona.cat/futbol/...17/l-infantil-b-guanya-la-world-challenge-cup
Spanish: https://www.fcbarcelona.es/futbol/f...017/el-infantil-b-gana-la-world-challenge-cup

 

La Masia products on the decline: http://www.sport-english.com/en/news/barca/masia-loses-presence-within-the-barcelona-squad-5352039
Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Leo Messi, Rafinha, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Aleix Vidal and Jordi Masip are, now that the Barça squad has been completed for season 2016/17, the nine youth team products that will form part of Luis Enrique's group.

(And only 4 of them via La Masia directly with no sale or loan out between La Masia and First team. However, Denis could be the 10th "La Masia" if you count him for his 2 seasons with Barca B, but that was 19-21 years old so best that they don't count the Celta & ManCity product as true La Masia).

Another quote - lowest numbers since Pep arrived and started double digit streak:
It is the first time that the amount has dropped to less than double-figures since the 2008/09 season, which coincided with Pep Guardiola's debut year as first team boss. Since his arrival, the La Masia offerings increased year-by-year, reaching 12 in the last campaign of the coach from Santpedor, in 2011/12. The dozen were Victor Valdes, Pique, Cesc Fabregas, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Thiago Alcantara, Busquets, Pedro Rodriguez, Isaac Cuenca and Andreu Fontas.

All time high under Tata:
During the two years after Guardiola's departure, the presence of youth team products in the senior squad continued to rise, reaching 17 out of the 25 first teamers of the 2013/14 season. Gerardo Martino was the man in charge in that campaign, with a squad that boasted 68% of footballers formed in Blaugrana youth football. They were: Valdes, Martin Montoya, Pique, Cesc, Puyol, Xavi, Pedro, Iniesta, Messi, Jonathan dos Santos, Marc Bartra, Busquets, Alba, Cristian Tello, Cuenca, Sergi Roberto and Oier Olazabal.

 

http://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2016/09/01/57c843d022601dea758b45fd.html
Quoting from it (though the quote ignores Munir and Sandro, perhaps rightly since they are not here anymore; it also ignore Denis Suarez who came back after 2 seasons out on loan, Rafinha who came back after 1 season on loan, and Samper, promoted but now out on loan):

The decline in promotions from the youth system has caused the Catalan giants to splash out in the transfer market. The last three years have seen Barcelona spend 343 million euros on 15 new players, a spending spree that isn't close to being matched in the club's history.

In this time, only one player has risen to the first-team squad - goalkeeper Jordi Masip, who has enjoyed just 360 minutes of action in four games over the past two years.

 

Barca B win three straight and alone in first, 3-2 over Villarreal B.

Starters so far in front of goalkeeper José Suárez: The back four of Nili, Martínez, Tarín, and captain Sergi Palencia kept their spots, as did Fali, who once again lined up as a midfield destroyer behind Kaptoum and Aleñà. Up front, Alfaro, Alberto Perea, and top gun Marc Cardona also got the nod from the coach, who is depositing his trust in the trio after Juan Cámara, arguably the team’s most talented player, was loaned to Girona on transfer deadline day in order for his talent not to be wasted in the Spanish third tier.

 

Barca B have 5 wins and 1 loss and are averaging 2.5 goals a game. But their D has allowed 1.7 so lots of drama in their wins. Hopefully D improves now that Marlon Santos (on loan from Fluminese with a purchase option) finally has all his paperwork in place. He was in the squad for the first time but did not play in Mallorca vs. Mallorca B on Sunday, a 2-3 win for Barca B. They host 5th place Cornella on Saturday.

Summary with 3 minute video embedded: http://www.totalbarca.com/2016/09/barca-b-roundup-hard-worked-triumph/#more-692

http://www.sport-english.com/en/new...ll-clear-make-his-debut-for-barcelona-5413300

 

we beat Man City twice today, 1-0 in u-19 UEFA Youth CL; both were perfect coming in:
http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague...live/index.html?day=3&session=2&match=2020531

 

Another nice run has Barca B on top of their group again after a slump (they'd lost 2 and drawn 1; but now have won 2 straight). There's a 3:35 video at the end of the story. Impressive win since 3 of their players were with the first team (Marlon, Nili, and Alena). I'm a bit surprised Kaptoum did not play.
http://www.totalbarca.com/2016/10/barca-b-roundup-reserves-win-cardonas-return/#more-927

 

Well it is a tiny silver lining, we won the youth match up against Man City 0-2, and qualified for the final 16 already. The right footed shot from 18 y.o. leftback Cucu is worth a view (video is embedded with the linked story, goal at 85 second mark): http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/newsid=2417277.html

4 wins in 4 matches, 8 goals, 2 against. Next best in our group 6 points. Next best in all groups 10 points (we have 12). http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2017/standings/index.html

 

Barca win in Celtic 1-4 in the UEFA youth CL (5 straight wins in group stage for the mostly Juv. A squad): http://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2016/11/23/5835d253e2704e4c4b8b464e.html

Meanwhile Barca B is head and shoulders above the rest of the table having won 4 of their last 5 (even as Alena and Marlon have often trained with big squad and missed games). After 15 games played they have 31 points, Alcoyano has 29, then 4 clubs have 24. So a big lead to remain in position for the advancement to the real Segunda. Plus of their next 6 matches, 2 are against relegation threatened teams and 4 are against midlevel clubs, none against the rest of the top 6. http://www.futbol24.com/team/Spain/Barcelona-B/

So you'd have to say the overhaul worked as they cleaned house last January, brought many players in and released some big named youth cracks like Dongou, Bangnack, Grimaldo, Moha (well he left on his own, club wanted to keep him), Ondoa, etc.

 

We lost to Borussia earlier today in the UEFA Youth CL, which ended our chance to be the only club with a perfect record, however, still win the group and the draw ahead will see them facing clubs different from Barca: http://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2016/12/06/5846f3dcca4741f67d8b45a5.html

 

Nice video of yesterday 2-0 win over Real Madrid by Infantil B in the Liga Promise tournament (u-12 as I understand it). The first goal is great, Real kicks off, back passes a couple times, sloppy back pass to CB allows Barca player to steal the ball and immediately back heel it to set up a strike, up 1-0 in 11 seconds:

Today was the final, I will look for video but we blew out Atletico 6-o (or 6-1), here's minute by minute in Spanish:
http://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbo...adrid-directo-online-final-liga-promises.html

Shorter highlights of final:

Found super extended video:

 

Barca B close the calendar year with a win (after a couple draws) and on top of the table (video at the bottom of linked story):
http://www.totalbarca.com/2016/12/barca-b-roundup-winter-champions/

 

Nice, hopefully they continue with winning and get promoted to Segunda Division. Xavi should get his coaching badges soon and maybe he can coach Barca B next season.

 

Well if they keep playing this well for Gerard Lopez I want him to stay at Barca in some capacity. But love to see Xavi back when he hangs up his boots.

First game of the 2nd half of the season and Barca B was down 1-0 and down to ten men in the first half, on the road against a team who had not lost at home since Jornada 2, and plays on a narrow artificial turf field. Oh and Barca B had some injuries too like Palencia and their other starting fullback and leading scorer Cardona, and the result was a 1-3 win for Barca B! Wow. http://www.totalbarca.com/2017/01/barca-b-roundup-epic-comeback-sagunto/

 

Barca b is alone at the top with 45 points in 21 games for a 5 point lead. They play 6th place Villarreal b today at 830 am PT so in 40 minutes.