Barcelona's approach to youth development

If it is good enough for Barcelona, then maybe it is something all coaches and parents involved in youth football should take note of:

Barcelona's approach to youth development
By Mike Woitalla


Alexanco provided me with details on how Barcelona ran its youth teams. "We don't demand that the youth teams win," said Alexanco. "We demand that they play good soccer. We don't use the word, 'winning.'" Not until after the players reach age 16 is there fitness training. "That's when we start to concentrate on the technical, tactical and physical requirements they need for the first team," Alexanco said. "Before that age we mainly play soccer. Everything is with the ball. We work on skills and some tactics."

 The Barca program fields teams from age 10 up. The 10-year-olds - the Benjamins - practice four days a week, in 45-minute sessions, and play 7-v-7 games on the weekend. All of the older age groups play 11-v-11. "They play the same system, in the 4-3-3 formation, used by first team," says Alexanco. "The developmental teams have to reflect the personality of the first team.
That also means playing attacking,attractive soccer. That's what our fans demand and what we want to give them."

 Through age 17, Barcelona fields two teams at each age group. Each player plays at least 45 percent of the games. Choosing the right players for its youth program is the key to its success. Barcelona does not hold tryouts. They don't work, says Alexanco. Charged with finding the talent are the ojeadores, the scouts. The players they pick come in for trials before they are invited to join the cantera. Barcelona employs 25 scouts throughout Spain, with at least one in each province. They convene twice a year at Barcelona, where the bosses reiterate the criteria and quality they're seeking in players. Barcelona also works with about 30 youth clubs throughout Catalonia, with the aim of finding players from the province it prides itself on representing, and it uses contacts throughout the world to find players. "You have to have eyes everywhere," Alexanco says. "You need to see the kids who are playing soccer on the playground. "We're looking for players who have technique and speed, and who look like players. And we're looking for players who offer something different." (Mike Woitalla, who coaches youth soccer in Northern California, is the executive editor of Soccer America. His youth articles are archived at YouthSoccerFun.com.