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YPT brings you the latest news and information from the worlds best academies
Benfica technical director Pedro Marques chats exclusively with CBS Sports about the Portuguese giants’ youth pipeline
SL Benfica might be behind FC Porto and Lisbon rivals Sporting in the Primeira Liga table this season but a key component in Manchester City’s 5-0 rampage at Estadio Jose Alvalade was made within the city as Bernardo Silva scored two and teed up another.
Leicester City’s Academy has been praised for its methods of development and track record of producing professional players after being awarded Category One status by the Premier League – the highest category possible for academies in this country.
The assessment for Category One status found that the Football Club’s Academy ‘have areas of very good practice within coaching and pathway provision and a good productivity of producing players for the professional game’.
Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany has explained that the club’s main focus and priority remains La Masia.
During the past half a decade or so, Barcelona had seen their focus shift away from La Masia as Josep Maria Bartomeu & co. splashed the cash on recruiting players from other clubs without much success.
Manchester United Under-23s marked the 64th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster by welcoming members of the club’s Under-13s side to lay wreaths at Saturday’s fixture against West Ham United.
On Sunday afternoon, two members of the Under-13s will read poems at the fan-led ceremony held at Old Trafford, which begins at 14:40 GMT.
Here is the story, as told in our matchday programme United Review, of how the Academy works to educate its young players on the tragedy of 1958 and its significance to the history of Manchester United.
There was a time, not so long ago, when the Premier League’s biggest clubs were able to scour every corner of Europe for the continent’s best emerging talents.
Nowhere was off-limits. “They are the great white sharks of football,” said Feyenoord’s technical director Leo Beenhakker after Chelsea had successfully landed a 15-year-old Nathan Ake for the meagre sum of £230,000 in 2010.
With the construction of an 80-acre facility in the heart of the ETIHAD campus dedicated to training academy players, Manchester City have placed an emphasis on building for the future as opposed to just the present.
The rewards are being reaped, as the U23s and U18s both won their respective Professional Development Leagues in 2020-21, and the latest player to make the step up to the first team – Cole Palmer – recently put in a stellar display in City’s 4-1 win in the FA Cup over Swindon.
They have not played in Ligue 1 for years, but that has not held back Le Havre’s academy.
Le Havre’s list of alumni makes for impressive reading. World Cup winners, European champions and some of the most expensive players in history have passed through the French club’s academy over the years. Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez, Dimitri Payet, Lassana Diarra, Édouard Mendy, Ferland Mendy and Steve Mandanda all called the club home in their formative years.
FC Barcelona has announced this Sunday that it will establish the tradition of assigning a number, corresponding to the order of debut from the year the Masia was inaugurated, to the footballers who debut with the first team in state or international competitions.
It should come as no surprise that big clubs across Europe are keeping a very close eye on Portugal and its world-renowned academies. For it is there, at every age group, that the sport’s next-best players are moulded into superstars.
An 18-year-old once knocked on Sir Alex Ferguson’s door asking for a trial at Man United and this is what happened next.
As you walk down the most coveted streets in Wilmslow, Cheshire, there is a air of exclusivity and seclusion that only millionaires can afford.
Mason Mount is one of the first names on both the Chelsea and England team sheet.
It’s fair to say the midfielder has had a quite productive few years; he’s won the Champions League and was named in the Champions League team of the season, as well as arguably being Thomas Tuchel’s best player in his first year at the club.
It is unfortunate that FC Barcelona’s transition out of financial ruin to face the new decade had to begin with saying goodbye to their greatest ever player.
Joining at age 13 as a young Argentine with growth deficiencies, Lionel Messi finished off his footballing education in the world-famous La Masia academy to become a four-time Champions League winner and five-time Ballon d’Or holder that it was a privilege to watch at his peak.
MANCHESTER UNITED have launched an innovative ‘work experience’ scheme that will enable their Professional Development Phase players (Under-17s to U23s) to spend time with EFL clubs.
The Pro Experience Programme is distinct from the formal loan system and gives players training time with EFL clubs in short bursts.
Rangers first team coach Michael Beale has insisted that the Gers owe a debt to the academy after they helped the side to hold off Alashkert in the Europa League amidst a crisis in the squad.
The Light Blues faced a crisis in the squad when manager Steven Gerrard and several players, including James Tavernier, Ryan Kent and Allan McGregor were forced to self isolate ahead of their Europa League trip to Alashkert.
13-year-old Lee Robinson is honing his game with Emmen FC in the Netherlands
A Vernon teen’s skills in both soccer and social media have landed him multiple stints at professional team youth academies in the Netherlands, a move that bodes well for his prospects of making it at the pro level.
When he’s not practicing in his backyard, 13-year-old Lee Robinson can often be found training diligently at the DND fields or on the turf at Okanagan College.
English Premier League giants, Arsenal have signed Munir Sada, a nine-year-old football prodigy from Zaria, in Kaduna State.
The news that the young football sensation has joined Arsenal Football Kid Academy in London has brought so much excitement to Nigerian football fans, particularly the teeming fans of the club.
Special area of La Masia – Centro de Formación Oriol Tort opens this Tuesday, which will be used by nine members of the Barça B women’s team.
La Masia now really is mixed. On August 1, nine members of the Barça B women’s team became its first female residents in 122 years of history.
New Academy Director Paul Jenkins feels he has the recipe to build on the success story at Gawthorpe.
For The 46-year-old, a former owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant – was unveiled last Friday, having joined the club earlier this year as Technical Director.
For footballers up and down the U.K., the start of a new season is filled with hope. But for some, the big kick-off is just another reminder that their own dream is over.
MANCHESTER UNITED have unveiled their new Pre-Academy coaching team, led by Neil Gittins and Connor Hunter.
Gittins, who has worked for the club for 11 years, is now Coaching and Programme Manager (U7s to U11s), and devises a coaching programme that is “suitable and age-appropriate”. Hunter has been promoted to Pre-Academy Manager, having previously been Lead Phase Scout (U6s to U8s).
CRISTIANO RONALDO’S son is set to play in Manchester United’s academy set-up alongside Wayne Rooney’s kid Kai.
Cristiano Jr, 11, has been with Juventus’ academy since 2018, with Ronaldo Sr revealing back then that he hoped his son would become a footballer.
Messi has enrolled his two eldest sons Thiago (8-year-old) and Mateo (5-year-old), at PSG’s academy meaning the two, have now officially left Barca’s academy
Premier League clubs are increasingly concerned about young players’ welfare as they attempt to navigate social media.
Premier League academy footballers are being taught about trolling, sexual communication and online identity to help them deal with the demands and pitfalls of social media, i can reveal.
Sessions tailored for players as young as eight, teenagers and parents tackle how internet culture can have a detrimental impact on a footballer’s mental health.
Will youth get a chance now under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Man Utd that Ronaldo is set to be the star of the show?
Manchester United have confirmed the sensational return of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Some 12 years after the Portuguese talisman left United for Real Madrid, Juventus have agreed to sell Ronaldo for 20m euros plus add-ons. Ronaldo agreed personal terms on Friday afternoon and has now completed his United medical and it’s only a matter of time before he dons the red shirt again.
UEFA is looking at changing the Financial Fair Play rules – Could Chelsea use more youth players than before?
UEFA has announced an overhaul of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, with big money splashed on Romelu Lukaku and the departure of youth player Tammy Abraham the question arises – Will Chelsea be looking to use youth players more, rather than splashing the cash?
Justin Cochrane recently joined Manchester United as an academy coach and has explained that his attacking philosophies match those of the club
Manchester United academy coach Justin Cochrane has explained his coaching philosophies and revealed that they match up with the club’s style and DNA.
Cochrane joined the club this summer from Tottenham and is the new academy head of player development and coaching.
Could the United States finally be catching up to the rest of the world in football?
Bayern Munich campus director Jochen Sauer has seen the progress that the sometimes-flawed soccer system has made in the United States.
The present results blow away, the past…by a long shot per Sauer.
Anna Saghy (12) from Culemborg is such a girl who walks with a ball at her foot all day long. She plays for the local amateur club Focus’07, is a fan of international Daniëlle van de Donk and every year she receives a football uniform for her birthday, the last time from FC Barcelona.
In Culemborg, the midfielder plays in a boys’ team. “Because then you learn the most as a girl,” says her father Michel Saghy. Focus’07 is a great club, with a lot of attention for talent development, but „the holy grail”, he says, is Ajax. So when the Amsterdam club organized a talent day for girls early last year, Anna signed up.
“My first question is always: ‘Can this guy dribble?’ I only want players who have that skill, so that’s always what I look at. I want full-backs and central defenders and midfielders and inside forwards and wingers who can dribble. That’s the key.” Pep Guardiola, The Evolution.
THE ability to beat an opponent 1v1 is arguably more important now than ever, because defences are becoming better organised and spaces harder to find.
With most of the Manchester City squad still on their summer holidays following their international exploits, there will be an opportunity for the club’s academy to showcase its good work to a wider audience this pre-season.
Or rather, there might be. A COVID-19 outbreak at the under-23 and under-18 camp in Loughborough has heavily disrupted preparations, with the academy building closed for 10 days and training postponed until Saturday.
