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Author Topic: Barca to open English academy  (Read 5615 times)

Offline Salsa Party Animal

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Barca to open English academy
« on: February 19, 2011, 02:46:50 AM »
From http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_6757058,00.html

Barcelona are to open an academy in Surrey, placing them in direct competition with Chelsea.

The Catalan giants have struck a deal which will see them set up their first training camp outside of Spain.

Barca will begin staging coaching classes for 300 hopefuls between the ages of six and 16 from April at ACS school in Cobham.

The school, which is less than two miles from Chelsea's training ground, is attended by the children of Didier Drogba and Yossi Benayoun.
Passion

Barca appreciate that they will be competing for promising talent with the reigning Premier League champions, but believe both sides will benefit from the initiative.

Academy coach Xevi Marce said: "We are not coming here to be in competition with Chelsea.

"We are going to start slowly but surely to build a team here, train all the kids and get that passion.

"In the future we might lose a player or two to Chelsea or the other way around. It is not a problem."

----------------------------

Good idea. Shame it is not in West Bromwich.

How about setting up an partnership with Barcelona for 2nd Academy in West Midlands perhaps in Gloucestershire or something like that. Then buy Kidderminster Harriers and use them as breeding ground for young Villa and Barcelona players.  (Not sure what happens with KH last week)

So this way we can get more choice and learn their secret :)


Offline timeoutbigbar

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2011, 03:06:00 AM »
Slightly off topic but strangely watched KH game against Cambridge United tonight with the old man.  Was the first game i'd seen since the midweek CL game so the quality wasn't quite there but the effort certainly was. 

On topic, if they're prepared to teach english kids the barcelona style then it'll be a great thing for the national team but unfortunately chelsea might lose a few young players.....how will they cope.

Offline darren woolley

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2011, 09:38:32 AM »
So Barcelona start picking the best English talent coming through as if they haven't got enough talented players on there books.

Offline pablopicasso_10

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2011, 09:42:36 AM »
amusing when their ex president laporta was having a go at english clubs for "fishing" their players...

although would be interesting to see what some continental coaching can do for youngsters...

Offline WikiVilla

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2011, 09:53:19 AM »
Shame its in Surrey.

Mids or East End or Liverpool / Manchester would all have been more understandable locations

Offline The Left Side

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2011, 06:44:42 PM »
Does any other club in Europe do this?

Online Toronto Villa

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2011, 07:12:29 PM »
it's a good thing. The kids coming through will be taught how to play the game properly, and unlike at Chelsea actually have a chance of playing for the first team. The players will develop good technical skills, something that can only benefit the national game and national team.

Offline villa1

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2011, 08:21:20 PM »
The majority of player who attend the Barca Academy won't make their first team so will most likely end up playing for English clubs anyway, meaning we should benefit.

Offline hawkeye

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2011, 11:05:52 PM »
Shame its in Surrey.

Mids or East End or Liverpool / Manchester would all have been more understandable locations
yes if they were the locations where most junior/ youth football takes place, it isnt though, the next generation of footballers are more likely to be from middle class back grounds and areas

Offline WikiVilla

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2011, 04:38:28 AM »
Then the future of the game is fucked, see tennis

Offline Mr Diggles

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2011, 09:50:29 AM »
Then the future of the game is fucked, see tennis

Hold on to your horses, WCH, surely the relative paucity of British tennis talent is more likely due to the inaccessibility  and expense of the sport rather than the class of people who play it. Football is a far cheaper option and open to everyone, proscribed of their background. The future of the sport is more threatened by the amount of money and debt and inequality of how the money is spread, rather than middle class boys playing it.

Offline PeterWithe

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2011, 10:42:35 AM »
I'd like to see Surrey council tell Barcelona to fuck right off, we are not (yet) a third world country where the local kids are chomping at the bit to go abroad to be able to feed their families.

Cheeky bastards, what about when they look at the kids coming through our ranks and decide to open a soccer school here?

Offline TimTheVillain

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2011, 11:35:44 AM »
I'd like to see Villa opening up an academy in Spain or maybe Italy.

Fair play Barcelona I say.

Online Monty

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #13 on: February 20, 2011, 02:20:30 PM »
Shame its in Surrey.

Mids or East End or Liverpool / Manchester would all have been more understandable locations
yes if they were the locations where most junior/ youth football takes place, it isnt though, the next generation of footballers are more likely to be from middle class back grounds and areas

Weirdly we probably don't have enough middle-class players. Not that there's anything different or better about them, but it's just sheer maths. The middle class is probably nearing the majority of the country, and yet an overwhelming proportion of players still come from poorer backgrounds. Now, you could say that's because poorer kids are hungrier to succeed, but that doesn't square with the fact that we have by far the lowest proportion of middle-class-born players in the 'big 5' leagues (France being the second lowest). Talent pays no attention to class, so if the largest grouping happens to be middle and yet there aren't many players from that grouping, then football is clearly missing out on some talent.

Online Toronto Villa

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Re: Barca to open English academy
« Reply #14 on: February 20, 2011, 02:23:25 PM »
Shame its in Surrey.

Mids or East End or Liverpool / Manchester would all have been more understandable locations
yes if they were the locations where most junior/ youth football takes place, it isnt though, the next generation of footballers are more likely to be from middle class back grounds and areas

Weirdly we probably don't have enough middle-class players. Not that there's anything different or better about them, but it's just sheer maths. The middle class is probably nearing the majority of the country, and yet an overwhelming proportion of players still come from poorer backgrounds. Now, you could say that's because poorer kids are hungrier to succeed, but that doesn't square with the fact that we have by far the lowest proportion of middle-class-born players in the 'big 5' leagues (France being the second lowest). Talent pays no attention to class, so if the largest grouping happens to be middle and yet there aren't many players from that grouping, then football is clearly missing out on some talent.

Monty, have you read the excellent book called Soccernomics by Kuper and Symanksi?

 


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