Barcelona's gamble on youth is paying off, however will it final?

Hansi Flick admits that the “eureka!” second when he promised that nothing would cease him in the future changing into Barcelona coach was the evening of March 21, 2006. He and 67,000 others had been at Camp Nou to see Frank Rijkaard’s staff beat Getafe 3-1 whereas the house crowd sang “Blissful Birthday” to Ronaldinho, who turned 26 that day.

Reduce to the current and Flick’s remarkably youthful staff are prime of LaLiga with a 100% report and he is making ready for his Champions League debut as Barcelona coach at Monaco on Thursday — extra of that in a second.

Flick will not understand it, however there is a sting within the tail for those who examine his state of affairs with Rijkaard’s Barça staff that had been en-route to changing into European champions in opposition to Arsenal in Paris. The context is that this.

Flick noticed Getafe go 1-0 up at Camp Nou that evening because of a winger who had been the Lamine Yamal/Pedri/Gavi/Pau Cubarsí/Marc Casado of his day. His full identify was Fernando Macedo Da Silva Rodilla — often called Nano.

While in Barcelona’s academy, Nano lived at La Masia (the stone-built, centuries-old academy proper subsequent to Camp Nou, the place true legends like Pep Guardiola and Andres Iniesta lodged as youngsters) and he attended individually-tutored secondary faculty courses with a child referred to as Mikel Arteta.

Marvel no matter occurred to that saturnine Basque midfielder? (Trace: his staff gained the North London derby on the weekend.)

In 1999, Louis van Gaal had given Nano his Spanish SuperCup, LaLiga and Champions League debuts when, every time, the Galician grew to become the youngest to put on Barça’s well-known shirt in these competitions. Aged simply over 17 and 6 months, Nano may play.

When Flick went to Camp Nou 18 years in the past as Nike’s particular visitor, he was impressed by a Barcelona XI containing solely three Spaniards (in comparison with seven versus Girona on Sunday.) The youngest man in Rijkaard’s staff that evening was a 23 year-old Brazilian, Thiago Motta, and the remainder had been largely of their late 20s. Zero comparability to Flick’s array of youngsters.

When Nano was Barcelona’s 17 year-old “wonderkid,” the membership secured his future with a multimillion euro, five-year contract — within the face of an enormous provide from Arsenal. The Galician teenager spent a few of it, to large criticism, on a soft-top two-seater Mercedes convertible, and likewise purchased his personal property within the metropolis. However by the evening Flick noticed him scary Barcelona into life for Bernd Schuster’s Getafe, he’d already been let go by the Catalans and by Atletico Madrid.

The comparisons between that model of Barcelona and the present one could not be extra stark.

Rijkaard, again in 2006, had each Iniesta and Lionel Messi breaking by way of, however used every of them conservatively. Don’t be concerned — it regarded like insanity then, not simply now. Rijkaard did not really feel the necessity to stick his neck out. So he did not.

In Iniesta’s case, the Barcelona coach drove one in every of Spain’s biggest footballers to despair and, later that season, benched him for the Champions League ultimate. Let’s not even discuss Messi’s absolute fury to seek out Rijkaard had dropped him from the squad for that ultimate.

Again then, in reserve, the membership had previous arms like Xavi, Edmilson, Henrik Larsson, Sylvinho and Rafa Marquez to name on. Rijkaard noticed the academy lads as luxuries.

By the top of Barcelona’s 4-1 win at Girona on Sunday, Flick’s unused subs included an 18-year-old Miami-born goalkeeper, a 19-year-old defender, and an attacking midfielder who solely turned 16 final month. Whereas the coach had already introduced on an 18-year-old full-back, plus two different gamers with simply three first-team begins between them. That is in context of the beginning XI already containing Yamal (17), Pedri (21), Cubarsí (17), Alex Balde (20), and Casadó (who turned 21 final week.)

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Barcelona dismantle Girona to stay good in LaLiga

Barcelona places on a goal-scoring masterclass in opposition to Girona for his or her fifth win of the LaLiga season.

Flick promoted Guille Fernández, that 16-year-old on the bench I discussed, to the primary staff for Girona largely as a result of his 16-year-old cousin Toni Fernandez, a left-footed striker who most of Europe’s footballing elite needed to pinch from Barcelona this summer season, was struggling minor again ache. In any other case Toni, who has received a objective a sport for Barcelona B this season, would have been the Fernandez in that squad.

The three major questions this conjures up are: how does Barcelona’s youth system maintain discovering and creating such gems when La Masia suffers cutbacks and fixed modifications of coaches? Good scouting and the attract of the model identify are the keys. However the outcomes are nonetheless phenomenal.

Subsequent query: why, then, does the membership, at common intervals spend so atrociously badly within the switch market that they are over €1 billion in debt? Greed, self-importance and stupidity, for my part.

And, how a lot can really be anticipated of such a youthful squad this season — with out evoking Alan Hansen’s “you’ll be able to’t win something with youngsters” which he snarled out on BBC’s Match of the Day programme when a youthful Manchester United — fielding can be often called the Class of ’92 — had been crushed at Aston Villa on the opening day of season 1995-96.

Properly, starting in Monte Carlo on Thursday, and once more on Sunday at Villarreal (watch live on ESPN), we’ll see.

Proper now, from the latter a part of Ronald Koeman’s reign at Barcelona, by way of Xavi inserting enormous religion in Gavi and Pedri plus giving debuts to Lamine, Balde and Cubarsi, evidently for those who’re over 14, can kick the ball straight and also you’re something over 5-foot-5 then there’s an opportunity you are coaching with the primary staff — possibly even taking part in.

Not all of the younger skills at the moment pulling on the first-team jersey at Barcelona will make it there long run. However most will and, mark my phrases, very quickly you will be admiring the Fernandez cousins, Unai Hernandez, Orian Goren and Pedro “Dro” Fernandez. 5 very particular skills — all of whom, besides 19-year-old Hernandez, are 16.

Nano’s Barcelona expertise is a metaphor for Arteta, Sergio Garcia, Bojan Krkic, André Onana, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Dani Olmo and Xavi Simons — all of whom, again within the day, give up their mother or father membership ridiculously early as a result of they believed, or had been instructed, that they’d not be given sufficient religion or taking part in time.

Exceptional.

I believe Fabregas, a youth academy famous person at Barcelona, lifting copious trophies in groups with Messi and Pique, who jumped ship to Arsenal as a result of by 16 he had already misplaced religion that he’d be promoted to Barça’s first staff sufficiently rapidly, explains it finest.

Speaking to the BBC final week he mentioned: “Barcelona’s financial issues meant they had been pressured to begin taking part in all of the younger gamers. Take a look at them now — just a few years later! The younger gamers maintain coming. Flick retains placing in two or three extra. And after Xavi put Lamine Yamal within the staff two years in the past aged 15, possibly he is now value €120m?

“The golf equipment and the gamers achieve the expertise on this course of but it surely’s the coaches who typically pay the value. When Chelsea had been banned from signing gamers [Frank] Lampard began taking part in youth staff guys like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Reece James. Who was sacrificed due to outcomes? Frank Lampard. The form of time you Arsene Wenger was allowed to point out me — that does not exist now. Solely when a membership is pressured to — like Barcelona. So, impulsively, there’s 10 younger gamers from 16 or 17 years previous who can play for the primary staff and everybody’s saying ‘how amazingly they’re doing!!’

“Properly, no! If Barcelona had tons of of hundreds of thousands then they’d most likely put money into the brand new Neymar or Ronaldinho. I imagine that there’s a lot extra potential for gamers to begin youthful and youthful and that they’re much extra prepared than I used to be at their age.”

We’re all on a voyage of discovery. It is terribly uncommon for one in every of Europe’s elite golf equipment to be so reliant on even sensationally gifted younger footballers. And, probabilities for revenge, and probabilities to re-measure your self, do not often come round solely weeks aside. However that is what’s about to occur to Flick and his staff.

Of their season-opening Gamper Match pleasant they had been thrashed 3-0 by Monaco and made to seem like callow youths. The German coach mentioned that jet-lag and tiredness after their USA tour, then transatlantic flights residence, had been to essentially guilty.

Now he is up in opposition to the Ligue 1 aspect once more a mere 38 days later. A horrible pitch at Stade Louis II (it is on the roof of their automotive park and indoor sports activities amenities!), good high quality opponents and so many damage issues in Barcelona’s squad — what can Flick’s boys obtain? The children are alright? Their, and our, studying continues.