In this article, we present to you our pick of the top 10 academies in club football.
In this day and age, youth academies are a major prerequisite for all major clubs around the world as they aim to develop talent from a young age and provide opportunities to promising youth who envisage a career in football.
Academies generally develop players to build future options for their senior team, but they can also serve as a source of additional income by helping clubs make profit over player sales that are either deemed surplus to requirement or want a lucrative big-money move to a top club.
Most football academies have several levels of setup, right from under-16 and under-18 teams in the lead up to the first team. There have been many famous names in world football who ended up going from the academy level to the very top, while some have moved on to different clubs and earned success there.
The criteria for our selection takes into consideration the following factors:
Sporting have an incredible legacy of producing world-class talent on a consistent basis. While some of their academy stars have stayed in their first team for a while, most of their illustrious names have gone on to greener pastures.
Sporting CP Youth Academy is part of the Academia Cristiano Ronaldo, based in Alcochete. Named after their most successful protégé, Cristiano Ronaldo, and headed by the renowned Aurélio Pereira for several decades, the Sporting academy has scouted and developed some of the world’s best talents.
Sporting’s youth development division includes the Pólo Estádio Universitário de Lisboa and the Aurélio Pereira Academy, situated near their home stadium, the Estádio José Alvalade. They accept children aged between 6 and 13 years for training.
Some of Sporting’s most famous academy graduates are: Luís Figo, Ricardo Quaresma, Paulo Futre, William Carvalho, João Moutinho, Rui Patrício, and Nani in addition to Ronaldo.
Boca Juniors is one of the most prestigious South American clubs in world football. Before the 1980s, they competed with River Plate by buying the best South American players owing to their financial might. However, this approach stopped working soon, which is when the club took a leaf out of the book of their rivals and shifted focus towards building a youth academy of their own to produce high-quality talent.
Since the 1990s, Boca have produced many quality players that have gone on to shine in Europe, which has also coincided with the club returning to the topmost level in South American football.
The Boca Juniors academy, set up in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, is famously known as the “Boca Factory”. The youth setup exists from levels U8 to U20. Some of the top names that have come out from the Boca Juniors youth system are: Éver Banega, Carlos Tevez, Fernando Gago, Nicolás Burdisso, Nicolás Gaitán, Alan Varela, and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Another one of South America’s greatest football clubs, River Plate have also been famous for nurturing and developing world-class football talent that has shone across the Americas and Europe.
River Plate’s academy, La Escuela de Fútbol River Plate, starts admitting players at the U7 level. The football played at River Plate demands the players to combine skill, game intelligence, and tactical awareness with the mental strength they bring from playing in the streets and local tournaments. Their football curriculum is structured around initially setting up a technical foundation for the young players and then move into competencies like passing and dribbling, which directly helps in game play.
Some of River Plate’s most illustrious alumni are: José Manuel Moreno, Javier Mascherano, Pablo Aimar, Hernán Crespo, Enzo Francescoli, Gonzalo Higuaín, and Omar Sívori in addition to arguably their most famous alumni, the great Alfredo Di Stéfano.
One of England’s most prestigious institutions, Arsenal FC’s academy has been set up at Hale End in London and is thus dubbed “the Hale End”. Former Arsenal player Per Mertesacker is the current Academy Manager at the club.
The Arsenal academy setup focuses on development of players on the basis of their age and preferred playing position. The club provide individual and team-based coaching for each player. Their setup ranges from U9 to U23 levels, and the practice of aligning the playing style with that of the first team begins very early on.
Some of the high-profile names to have been part of the Arsenal academy are: Tony Adams, David O’Leary, Martin Keown, Paul Merson, Ashley Cole, Liam Brady, Harry Kane, Jermaine Pennant, Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny, Héctor Bellerín, Bukayo Saka, Serge Gnabry, Emiliano Martínez, and Eberechi Eze.
AS Monaco have been a breeding ground for many a top talent in Europe. The Monégasque club’s youth academy was established in 1975 as an initiative of the then-club president Jean-Louis Campora. The aim of creating the academy was to scout young talents and develop them as world-class footballers, which they certainly managed to do in several instances.
The selection criteria for a young talent were initially based on three vital parameters, and if a player didn’t possess even one of these, the Monaco academy would dismiss them. The parameters were: speed, quick reflexes, and exceptional technique.
Some of the most notable players churned out by the AS Monaco academy are: Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram, Emmanuel Petit, David Trezeguet, Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Benoît Badiashile.
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It’s a huge misconception in some football circles that Real Madrid do not have a world-class football academy. Since before they were called “the Galácticos” and started buying stars from other clubs in big money deals, Real Madrid have been developing a range of football superstars of their own. Popularly known as “La Fábrica”, the Real Madrid academy is located in Valdebebas, Madrid.
The club’s youth academy system was developed in the 1950s by former Real Madrid player Miguel Malbo under the guidance of the then-club president, Santiago Bernabéu. Malbo served as the director of the youth academy for five decades and had a huge role to play in creating a top-class academy.
Since its inception, the academy has seen several of its graduates move onto the first team and other European sides, contributing to the success of their respective clubs. The level of the youth system starts at the U6 level and goes onto the U19 level.
The most impressive talents to have emerged from Los Blancos‘ academy are: Raúl González, Iker Casillas, Guti, Juan Mata, Dani Parejo, Samuel Eto’o, Juanfran, Marcos Alonso, Saúl Ñíguez, Dani Carvajal, Álvaro Negredo, Nacho Fernández, Achraf Hakimi, Marcos Llorente, Álvaro Morata.
Anyone who knows about Brazilian football would know Santos’s record of producing some of the most illustrious names in world football—players that have been greats, inspiring generations of young children to take up football as a profession.
The Santos academy is based in São Paulo and the players train at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium. The Santos youth level system is divided into five age groups: U11, U13, U15, U17, and U20. Their academy players are not just provided training but also medical support. The club’s physical development programme is famously top-notch.
Some of the most notable Santos academy graduates who went on to achieve success and play for big clubs are: Neymar Júnior, Rodrygo, Robinho, Danilo, Emerson Palmieri, Clodoaldo Tavares, and Zito alongside one of football’s greatest legends, Pelé.
One of the most popular clubs across the world, Man United haven’t just achieved success with several trophies to their name, they have also developed an enviable football academy famous for producing talented footballers.
The Manchester United Academy was established in 1998, but the initiation happened as early as 1930 with the establishment of the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC). The current academy is based at the Aon Training Complex in Carrington, Manchester.
The Manchester United academy ranges from the U9 up to the U18 levels, boasting a wide global scouting network. The eye for talent of the United scouts is considered second to none, and the fact that they have named at least one academy player in 4,000 consecutive matchday squads is a testament to their long-standing record of developing youth talent and moving them into the first team. Their famous “Class of 92” is particularly remembered as the best batch of youth players to ever graduate from the United academy.
Some of the most successful and talented Manchester United Academy graduates are: David Beckham, George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards, Mark Hughes, Nobby Stiles, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Wes Brown, Duncan Fletcher, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Scot McTominay, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Greenwood.
AFC Ajax’s academy was established in the 1900s and is known to have developed some of the most talented Dutch players over multiple generations. The Ajax academy manages 13 youth teams ranging from U7 to U18 levels.
Sportcomplex De Toekomst is the training ground of the Godenzonen. The entire complex consists of seven fields and a training centre. The style of play the club enforce in the academy is the “Total Football 4-3-3” setup they have been synonymous with for over half a century. The academy works on the TIPS principle: technique, insight, personality, and speed.
Some of the most talented graduates from the AFC Ajax academy are: Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Edwin van der Sar, Marco van Basten, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, Frank Rijkaard, Sjaak Swart, Rafael van der Vaart, Ryan Babel, John Heitinga, Daley Blind, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen, Nigel de Jong, Christian Eriksen, Ryan Gravenberch, Matthijs de Ligt, Jurriën Timber.
FC Barcelona is one of the most distinguished institutions followed globally by millions of fans, and a lot of the Blaugrana’s success can be attributed to its homegrown players.
The Barça academy is famously known as “La Masia”, named after the training facility where it was initially housed. The inception of the academy was suggested by Jaume Amat in 1979. Since then, La Masia has seen a lot of change, but its aim remains to develop young talent and blood them into the first team, unlike Barça’s arch-rivals, Real Madrid, who prefer to buy proven players from other clubs these days.
La Masia develops youth across levels ranging from U6 to U18. Their current academy is set up at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Barcelona, named in honour of their founder, Joan Gamper.
The core philosophy of the academy consists of Total Football mixed with traditional Spanish one-touch football (tiki taka). Dutch legend Johan Cruyff introduced Total Football to the club and merged it with their traditional approach. The commitment and continuity to this approach has been one of the main reasons for Barcelona’s unprecedented success in club football.
Some of the most famous La Masia graduates are: Carles Puyol, Victor Valdés, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Cesc Fàbregas, Sergi Barjuán, Guillermo Amor, Pep Guardiola, Thiago Alcântara, Mikel Arteta, Pepe Reina, Pedro Rodriguez, Luis García, Jordi Alba, Albert Ferrer, Sergi Roberto, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Marc Bernal, Pau Cubarsí, Ansu Fati alongside the best player of this generation and winner of multiple Ballons d’Or, Lionel Messi.
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