So England are desperately clutching at straws in their attempts to ‘nationalise’ Belgian, Turkish, Serbian, Albanian, Kosovan … any more? Adnan Januzaj. Is English talent really that poor that we are now resorting to a player who wouldn’t theoretically be available until 2018? Not to mention he has only started one game in the Premier League. As talented as he is, Surely the German, Spanish or Dutch FA wouldn’t resort to such desperate measures. In light of this, I wish to take a brief look at certain youth academies that produced players of excellent standard for their country without the need for a Adnan Januzaj.
Ajax/Holland
Probably the first team that comes to any football fan’s mind when discussing the produce of technically gifted youth players. The inaugural ‘breeding ground’ for the ‘Total football’ fostered by FIFA’s coach of the century Rinus Michels in the 1970’s which has strongly influenced so many possession based tactics and the abrasive pressing style of Barcelona and Spain. A style of football which shocked the world by it’s beauty and efficiency and possibly the greatest team to never win a World Cup. However, Winning three consecutive Champions Leagues, 1988 European Championship and numerous league titles, none of this would be possible without the technically emphasised youth coaching of Ajax. Also the phenomenal success of Barcelona and AC Milan in the 80’s and 90’s would never be possible without marquee signings such as Van Basten and Rijkaard.
Notable players: Cruyff (My favourite 20th century player along with Baresi), Bergkamp, Sneijder, Rijkaard, Davids, Neeskens too many others to name here.
Barcelona/Spain
If Ajax are the undisputed ‘King of Youth’ then Barca take the Prince’s crown and will surely usurp them in coming years. Just looking at the wealth of young talent amongst Barca’s famous La Masia youth academy is frightening and quite frankly embarrassing that England have not adopted something similar. Based on the successful model of Ajax’s youth set up, La Masia dedicate rigorous hours of intense technique based training and boasting a huge training complex along with an on site dormitory which the promising youth players stay in. Guardiola, one of the first graduates, is seen as the most complete example of the standards set out by La Masia and was influential in the progression of Xavi and Iniesta’s career. So confident in their standards, they have even resigned former graduates Pique, Fabregas and Jordi Alba in recent years and each of them have adapted amazingly. They instil a much lauded ‘Tiki-Taka’ philosophy which has become emblematic with the success of Spain in recent years. It’s simple, No La Masia = No World cup.
Notable players: Guardiola, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Messi,
Santos/Brazil
The team which made the game beautiful, an innate love for the game has surrounded Brazil throughout the years, leaving fans with a mutual love for their footballing philosophy regardless of whether they’re Brazilian or not. No other club in Brazil has been so closely linked with the magic of Brazil than Santos. Probably best known nowadays as the supplier of Neymar, Santos also produced world class players such as Coutinho, Robinho, Elano and a certain player called Pele. Since Pele’s retirement Brazil have always heaped pressure onto promising young attackers and constantly dubbing them the ‘new Pele’ in a very similar way to how Argentina does with Diego Maradona. Neymar and Robinho, both Santos graduates, have been compared ferociously with the success of Pele and despite Robinho slightly waning over the years; Neymar’s legacy has just begun and promises a lot.
Notable players: Pele (you might have heard of him), Robinho, Coutinho, Neymar
In order to replicate the success of these great teams, England needs to have a hard look at their youth set up standards and the St Georges Park Centre of Excellence is the right way forward, but this just scratches the surface. We need to encourage promising academies such as Southampton to produce more Walcotts and Chamberlains, Manchester United to produce more Scholes and Beckhams and West Ham to produce more Lampards and Ferdinands. At the moment it looks bleak, and I can certainly see why we would want someone of Januzaj’s technical quality, but England’s players are soon moving into that direction of training and Jack Wilshere can be our very own Guardiola and serve as a standard prototype of the quality of player we should be aiming for.
Belgium have certainly managed to do it lately and we should follow suit.
Daniel Guidice 