CONTE'S LA MASIA ADMIRATION: "THEY WORK A LOT IN ACADEMY"

Antonio Conte, among the most successful managers in world football, made striking statements about Barcelona's legendary infrastructure La Masia. The experienced Italian coach, who won countless trophies in giant clubs like Juventus, Chelsea, Inter, and Napoli, clearly expressed his admiration for the unique vision of the Catalan team in raising young players. While the decreasing importance given to the infrastructure in modern football is debated, Conte directly pointed to the Spanish representative as an example. The successful technical man started his words by saying, "Barcelona is doing incredible things," while evaluating the high-level performance shown by the young talents.

Drawing attention to the heavy burden carried by young players, Conte appreciated the unique self-confidence exhibited by the youth by saying, "The fact that youngsters coming out of the La Masia academy adapt and play football so comfortably at just 18 years old, in a team like Barcelona and in front of 100.000 people, shows how hard they work at the academy." The Italian coach, who generally prefers to work with experienced players, did not hide that he wanted to examine this flawlessly operating wheel of the Spanish team closely. Emphasizing that he is looking for an opportunity to see this tremendous system, Conte concluded his statements with the words, "I want to visit their academy. There is a structure there that works in great harmony with the main team."

These sincere confessions and strong praises awakened a wide echo in the sports media. The entire football world agreed that the continuous operation of La Masia like a massive football factory constitutes a flawless structure to be taken as an example for other big clubs. The endless trust the Barcelona management has in young talents and the jersey chance they provide stand among the strategies shaping the future of European football.

IMAGE: kompas