The injuries to Gavi and Pedri, as well as the previous setback for Ansu Fati, are not accidental children who are still growing and are being used repeatedly in a dense schedule like adults, with only one result: ruining them.
In this article from 2020, I have already made a teaser. Koeman was the initiator of the abuse of children, he adopted the practice of Dutch football, but the big five leagues are not the same thing as Dutch football, the load of children is more than an order of magnitude higher, and Dutch football has not produced much talent in recent years.
To make matters worse, once these kids have established themselves in the senior team with good technical skills, it is impossible to get them back to the bench or the B team, whether it is **, sponsors, management or agents.
But it would not be right to let Koeman take all the blame alone, with Luis Enrique and De La Fuente also involved in the underage abuse of Pedri, Gavi and others. What's worse is that in the Pep Guardiola era, an almighty La Masia myth was created, and in the end, maybe the Barcelona management themselves were fascinated, thinking that the Barcelona academy really had some kind of secret to turning stones into gold.
In fact, if you pay attention to the technicians who have gone to coach or engage in youth training elsewhere with the title of "former Barcelona youth coach" in the past ten years, you can understand that if there is really any great secret in Barcelona's youth training, then it must have spread a long time ago, and how much content does Barcelona keep for its own exclusive use?
If there is a myth in the youth training of Spanish football, it should belong to the Basque Country, where Bilbao and Real Sociedad are located. With a population of only 2.2 million, far below Catalonia's 8 million, Bilbao and Real Sociedad have a largely limited youth selection to the region, with Athletic Bilbao even having a pedigree route, while Barcelona's youth selection is spread all over Spain, with Andres Iniesta from La Mancha and Pedro and Pedri both from the distant Gran Canaria Islands.
The efficiency and quality of youth football training in the Basque Country is actually a must in world football. Relying solely on Basque players, Athletic Bilbao has never been relegated in its history, ranking fourth in La Liga for titles and second in the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey has changed its name several times), surpassing Real Madrid.
The high level of youth training in the Basque Country can be traced back to 100 years ago, when Spain banned foreign players in the 1910s, and Athletic Bilbao did not want foreigners or outsiders, not because the blood route had begun at that time, but because there were so many players in the Basque Country that the entire Spanish league was full of Basque players.
In this season, Athletic Bilbao has played 68 minutes through the team's youth training9% and Real Sociedad 454%, these are youth statistics that cannot be compared with teams including Barcelona.
If you take a closer look at the youth promotion system of these two teams, you can find that they do not have the same distinct passing and control requirements as La Masia in terms of skills and tactics, but at the same time, they are constantly absorbing and allowing children to learn advanced skills and tactics. The Basque youth academy insists on emphasizing the ability to fight, including physical confrontation and the pace of the game, which makes the Basque team has always been known for its courage in history, and not long ago Rayo Vallecano's French player Le Jon said in an interview with France ** that such links as the opposite foot must be the Basque players who are more ferocious and aggressive.
In addition, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad rarely promote 17-year-olds to the first team. Their players mature around the age of 19-23. A recent example is Athletic Bilbao midfielder Prados, whose impressive performances have caught the attention of several big clubs. The player, who turned 23 last month, only joined the Athletic Bilbao first team at the age of 21 before being sent to La Liga Mirandés for one season, returning to Bilbao last summer and gradually becoming a regular in December.
Barcelona has a tradition of bringing in Basque players throughout its history. Especially in the Cruyff era, Cruyff was very fond of Basque players, and Subisareta and Barquero were both pillars of Barcelona. However, this path has not been easy in recent years, as the best Basque players will face competition from Premier League clubs at the same time. Barcelona wants Real Sociedad's Suvemendi, and it is difficult to negotiate with the other party in terms of price. It's funny to bring in Inigo Martinez, the 32-year-old defender who has been scrapped by Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao and has entered an age of frequent injuries, and his form and body are not good, what's the point?
The breakdown of the myth of La Masia is the result of the lack of planning and planning of the entire Barça management in the last 10 years, and the final price paid by the bodies of a few children, which is not only absurd, but also pathetic. At the same time, the Barcelona management always plays the piano indiscriminately in terms of recruitment, which makes the head coach have to go to the youth team to find a rookie for emergencies, without considering the consequences of promoting seedlings.