Porto had Filipe Oliveira on there youth system, but they let him go to Chelsea on a free transfer, just trying to be friends, they also got Bruno Morais they developing ex Penafiel, they also got another ex Porto player on there youth system just can't think of his name
about best youth leevsl of course it is Sporting, half of the players that reach the senior team of Porto were produced in other teams. Joao Dias and B.gama from Braga Zequinha from Setubal Coelho from Covilha Ricardo Costa and R.silva from Boavista Candido Costa from benfica .... about Sporting they dont that that so much but they have a few players in that situation Danny from FC Caracas or FC Maritime(venezuela) (dont have sure, but was one of them in Venezuela) P.Sergio and Veloso from Benfica Custodio from Guimaraes Paito from some team in Mozambique ... but they still have the best schools of Portugal, no one can deny it, they had, a bad youth system last year in juniors level, but again they're dominating the youth levels again with Paito and others. Benfica B is in 1st position on 3rd league due to his junior team that was champion last year, not more, now they are the same crap again
last year they were in juniors B first division, playing alongside with Sporting and teams like that, but they were relegated btw Figo failed to play in Cova da Piedade, then some friend of him told him to have a trial in Sporting's youth levels, and he was accepted. Cova da Piedade's youth manager in that tiem was really stupid..
He had a contract with Sporting, and Lourinhanense was were he played. Thus he was a Sporting player. At the time they did not have an Academia, and he was playing with them to get more experience. Keep in mind he was only 16 when he went to Arsenal. The discussion here is who has the best Youth System, and it is hands down Sporting. They have been recognized as one of the top 3 in the World along with AC Milan and Ajax.
btwe Cova da Piedade probably will play in 1st division again in the next year in juniors level, cause they are leading Seubal's juniors divion with the same team that won Setubal's juniors b divison 2 years ago, this team is really awesome, some players already have invitations of big teams such as Sporting and Guimaraes link of the Juniores table of Setubal http://www.afsetubal.pt/campeonatos/camfut11_juniores1.htm?Horde=ab9f903fcada73161dad5d46ed82ffd8
what did i say, Sporting is the best youth schools of Portugal, everybody know that, and Boa Morte was playing in Lourinhanense cause Sporting's youth levels had already their team, and he went to Lourinhanense cause of that, all Lourinahnense youth players could join Sporting any time
I aggreed with you. I use to follow Lourinhanse because I am from Caldas da Rainha and they played against them in the Segunda Div B. I acually say Boa Morte play in 1992, he was a bit raw but you could already see he had talent.
Sporting hands down. I don't know how some of you guys can mention FCP? They buy young players, they don't produce them, that is the main difference and you can't consider that a youth system. SCP has produced, and continues to, top quality prospects.
Jonatas the striker that refused Sporting cause thu were offering lower wages taht he demanded, and cause he belongs to No Name boys (benfica supporter's group) so of course he wouldn't want to play there, but when he was in trial at Benfica they rejected him, Benfica's youth levels really suck, Sporting that is the best youth team wanted him, and benfica rejected him Bruno Luz the goalkeeper that won already several awards, son of a former Gk of the same team, that played there when Cova da Piedade was in the second division in seniors level with players such as Pedro Espinha.. Dario Ferreira is also a superb player, but he's Angolan, he was to sign contract with Guimaraes but he doesn't have Portuguese nationality, so he didn't join them and some others are really good, some of tehm such as Ullises Afonso, Ruben Gaspar and Ruben Oliveira were my classmates http://www.covadapiedade.net/Pages/Jun_Epoca2004_05.htm?Horde=ab9f903fcada73161dad5d46ed82ffd8
Actually Figo had originally tried out for Benfica because he was born a Benfiquista, but they rejected him because they thought he was to small and skinny, then one day he was playing a pick-up game in the street and he was spotted by someone who worked for Sporting (don't know if it was a Scout or what) and he allowed to try-out for Sporting and then they signed him. The funny thing about Miguel Veloso is that he and Joao Moutinho were in the Benfica schools until they were like 14 i think and then they were realeased because i think at the time Benfica was looking to get rid of their youth systems or something like that because it was to much of a cost for them to support and then Sporting went and signed both of them along with some others, but i don't believe the others have really produced much since then.
and sry if i came out a little strong before in my post about how Porto couldn't have the best youth system in Portugal
Figo played for a Lisbon Club called "Os Pastilhas" that he recently bought so they wouldn't go under. This is were he was spotted by Sporting Scouts. I don't ever remember hearing or reading that Benfica looked at him. I believe he has always been a Sporting Socio. He currently owns one of the Luxury boxes at Alvalade XXI.
no no Pastilhas is from Cova da Piedade, my town, that is from Almada, he was my neighbour lived some building near to me the pic of his building in Cova da Piedade and its true about his try out in Benfica, and he was rejected due to the things that Sporting4ever said, too skinny and small
The best (each in it's way): Sporting, Porto and Boavista There are two kinds of "youth player" 1) Produced "in house" (rare): e.g. Jorge Costa 2) bought early, from smaller clubs.: e.g. Ricardo Carvalho (Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, etc) For the first kind, the best in Portugal is, in my humble opinion, Boavista. It's amazing the quantity of valuable players that come out of those schools. They even have to sell u17's simply because they have no place for them. FC Porto and Sporting are quite good, but do not invest as much in their schools. For the second kind, Sporting has the lead, but closelly followed (lately, surpassed) by FC Porto. Between the two, they tend to snatch just about every u15 rising star. Benfica has lost a lot of ground due to an absurd Vale e Azevedo policy, but they seem to be recovering. Worth mentioning are Braga, Guimarães and Beira Mar (maybe I forget some...) that have good schools but can't keep the best... If they are good, they sign professional contract somewhere else (e.g. Vieirinha from Guimarães, Bruno Gama from Braga signed with FC Porto). Where Sporting excells is on the promotion of his best players, much better than FC Porto's, that sometimes seem to hide them. He also launches them earlier in the first team. However, they sell too soon. Figo and C. Ronaldo clearly show this. By selling too soon Sporting did not have any advantage on the field from finding those players, (when they began "exploding", they were imediatly sold) and he sold them far too cheaply. Porto, on the contrary, only sells for big bucks (V. Baia, J. Andrade, Postiga, R. Carvalho) and sometimes manages to avoid selling (Jorge Costa). He manages pratically has much revenue as Sporting from sells, but has the players for longer, gaining much more on the field. This season, the main team is very young, but most come from out of the youth system (Diego, C. Alberto, Quaresma, Bosingwa, R. Meireles). I currently follow closely the u17 national team. Not surprisingly it is based on Sporting and FC Porto. The stars from Sporting are creative forward Fábio Paim and Daniel Carriço (amazing central defender). From Porto, striker Candeias and "Robben like" André Monteiro. If this is an indication of the future, Benfica has quite some catching up to do. For more info on FC Porto youth prospects, go to http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/ FC Porto B http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/10/fc-porto-b-ponto-da-situao-1004.html Paulo Machado (u19): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/11/fc-porto-paulo-machado.html Bruno Gama (u18): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/09/esperana-na-equipa-b-bruno-gama.html Daniel Candeias (u17): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/09/estrela-em-ascenso-daniel-candeias.html Pedro Ribeiro (u21): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/10/esperana-no-fc-porto-b-pedro-ribeiro.html Cristovão (u21): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/10/esperana-no-fc-porto-b-cristovo.html André Monteiro (u17): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/11/andr-monteiro-estrela-na-sombra.html Castro (u17): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/12/castro-sub-17-um-portista-de-raa-no.html Morais (u17): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/11/antnio-morais-um-portista-no-eixo-da.html Hugo Monteiro (u17): http://esperancaportista.blogspot.com/2004/11/hugo-monteiro-alma-portista-nas_18.html
Re: The best (each in it's way): Sporting, Porto and Boavista Thanks for the post, and I would aggree on all points. But there is little difference in getting a player from a small club and having him develop "only" in a particular clubs youth system. 2 examples: When Sporting signed Figo to thier youth system he was a skinny, small kid. He only developed into a player after joining the Sporting Youth System. The key is spotting raw talent that can be developed, it doesn't matter if he started at 12 yrs old at a local club. Same thing with Cristiano, when Sporting spotted him in Madeira, he was very raw but yet they still signed him. My point being, you have to be able to do something once these talented youngster come under your guidance. While I agree Boavista has done some good things with Developing Youngsters, Sporting clearly has excellent youth coaches, great facilities and the results speak for themselves. Whether they sell them early or not is one of those things you can not judge untill they have played for several years. Better to sell when they are on the upswing then if they suddenly stop maturing. Case in point is Dani, had they waited to sell his rights they would have received nothing as he failed to sustain his great play. (Due in large part to him) Regardless, I think Portugal right now have many clubs that nurture and develop good talent. The key is letting the players mature and develop at the proper pace. Most of the African nations produce great youth teams but yet can not sustain great Adult teams for lengthy periods. They tend to do well in spurts and then fade.
Thanks for the info One last comment for me in this thread, everyone that has posted here has done a superb job in detailing up and coming players. Each of you have also brought up great points to about each teams youth systems pros and cons. I for one want to thank each of you for this information......sometimes we all think we know everything, but it is nice to see that we can each bring something to the table. Well done guys, I for one appreciate it. Positive rep for all
I don't think so. He was from Amarante, come to Porto at 15/16 and was loaned to several clubs (including Leça) at senior level. I may be wrong, but I don't think I am
He was signed from Leca (Born in Amarante) , and then played one game for Porto and was loaned out to Victoria Setubal (played 25 games) and Alverca (played 29 games) then he rejoined Porto and the rest is History. But thanks for the info
Re: The best (each in it's way): Sporting, Porto and Boavista I think this is a myth. He was wanted (at least) by Benfica, (my ) sources say that he was "snatched" right before signing. Same goes to C. Ronaldo. (it's said that he choose Sporting because, unlike Benfica, they found a job for his mother in Lisbon. ) Note that this only shows that Sporting has a good agressive policy when it comes to young rising stars. But to think that nobody else saw Figo and Ronald were good is naive.