When Johan Cruyff first implemented the core ideals, culture and philosophy that would evolve into Barcelona’s fabled La Masia youth academy, he could not have possibly imagined its current state of disarray. Where in 2011 eight La Masia graduates started in Barcelona’s European Champions League Final demolition of Manchester Utd – and formed the spine of Spain’s dominant reign on the international stage – now, less than a decade later, only Sergio Roberto has emerged from this once-vibrant production line to establish himself in the first team. Just five years ago Barcelona fielded a starting-XI in La Liga consisting entirely of La Masia graduates; fast-forward to last season against Celta Vigo when current Head Coach Ernesto Valverde attracted scorn and criticism for failing to include a single home-grown player. La Masia was not just the driving force behind the most successful club side of a generation and the most dominant European nation in history, its technical tiki-taka ideology and relentless pressing bestrode the footballing world.
But nowadays, partially no doubt due to the modern demands for instant success alongside the general apathy towards incumbent coach Valverde, a growing lack of trust and faith in the La Masia ideal has driven a wedge between the first-team and the academy. Scandal and controversy have rocked the very foundations on which it was built, notably the blanket transfer ban imposed on Barcelona back in 2014 which left a lasting stain on the club’s holier-than-thou image. Once the barometer of coaching excellence, La Masia now faces a fight to recover not only its illustrious reputation but also to preserve and re-establish its continued relevance in Barcelona’s fabric.
The stellar names of La Masia’s golden era just roll off the tongue; Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Victor Valdes, Pedro and of course Lionel Messi. Others such as Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas and Jordi Alba joined other clubs only to return to their spiritual home at the Camp Nou while the likes of Mikel Arteta, Luis Garcia and Hector Bellerin established themselves in the English Premier League. This wealth of homegrown talent granted Barcelona the luxury of being able to focus their transfer policy on recruiting world-class stars to complement their group. Thierry Henry, David Villa and Yaya Toure were just some of the global names to grace the Camp Nou stage.
But the ensuing years have been somewhat less glorious. Apart from Sergio Roberto – who has largely fulfilled an auxiliary full-back role rather than his natural central midfield position – nobody from La Masia has enjoyed even a fraction of those impacts since. And perhaps as a consequence of this decline so Barcelona’s transfer activity has become increasingly erratic and, dare I say, desperate. The likes of Luis Suarez and Neymar buck the trend, but Barcelona’s recent transfer activity has been so disastrous as to make Man Utd and Chelsea look like shrewd operators! 2016 saw the Catalan club fritter away £120M+ on gems including Andre Gomes, Paco Alcacer, Lucas Digne and Denis Suarez. All of those players had a minimal impact and have since been moved on with the exception of Suarez – himself a former La Masia graduate – but who Barca are desperate to offload to Arsenal this month.
Barcelona have yet to fully recover from the reverberations of Neymar’s acrimonious departure in 2017. The ensuing panic in a suddenly inflated market saw Barca surpass their previous excesses with a £300M+ splurge on largely inadequate and poorly considered signings. If you rummage through the rubble it is difficult to sing the praises of a single acquisition during that period. The impact of £250M+ arrivals of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele can at best be described as underwhelming, £35M+ Paulinho barely merits a mention while Gerard Deulofeu and Yerry Mina have already been farmed out to pastures new. Last summer fared little better with headliner Malcom, inexplicably snatched from under the noses of AS Roma for forty million as yet unfathomable reasons, and already rumoured to be on his way out.
One could have a certain sympathy with the eager prospects of La Masia vying to oust the likes of a Xavi or an Iniesta. To have one legendary talent blocking your path to the first team is unfortunate; to have two of Spain’s most influential and decorated icons ahead of you in the pecking order is downright unlucky. Thiago Alcantara was one whose desire to establish a first-team career saw him fly the nest to join FC Bayern. While the La Masia production line could never hope to see such a gifted generation again – only the prodigious Ajax team of the early 1990’s and Sir Matt Busby’s ‘Babes’ in the 1950’s have seen a comparable wealth of youthful talent – there are still exciting prospects in their own right. Carles Alena and Riqui Puig are enough to convince Barca director Xavier Vilajoana that the club haven’t completely disowned their youth program. But it must be a whole lot more demoralising to see your dreams overlooked while Barcelona pursue their absurd quest to reunite a group of North London reserves?! The permanently injured Thomas Vermaelen, the undeniably average Alex Song and the Paulinho debacle.
But no wound could prove quite so terminal to the stature and reputation and long-term relevance of La Masia as Barcelona’s truly bizarre acquisition of journeyman veteran Kevin Prince Boateng. In a self-deprecating tone Boateng once recalled his shock when his agent informed him of a possible move to AC Milan; Boateng was convinced his agent was joking. Barca aficionados would certainly have been praying that a similar bout of mirth had infected sports news agencies as this horror story inexplicably unfolded. But while it may be an inevitably short-term acquisition that even the most optimistic or delusional agent would have thought fanciful at best, in reality it could represent a fatal knife through the heart of La Masia and the dying embers of Johan Cruyff’s legacy.
The Eye of the Fly 