Asides from the glitz and glamour, the trophies and financial statements, the facilities, and architectural marvels, a few other things football clubs boast of are their academies. What appears to be an elementary part of a football club ecosystem has over time served as a saving grace for many clubs. Precisely acting as a source of steady finance and sometimes a last resort for major funding – as we have often witnessed with Ajax and lately Benfica CF.
Football academies, which are a modern delight for many clubs in the 21st century, have an importance that cannot be overemphasized. Football greats, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have been traced to football academies in Spain and Portugal respectively. While several professional football players may have started as street kids, the effect and opportunities given by football academies have been essential in helping these players fulfill their full potential.
Most online polls credit teams like Barcelona, Manchester United, and Sporting Lisbon for bringing through the most elite players in recent history. The aforementioned Ronaldo, Messi, and the famous Class of 92 may have influenced people’s judgment here.
Taking a peek at the long list of academies around Europe, we have drawn up a list of the best football academies in each of Europe’s top 5 leagues, solely based on the talents and quality of players they have produced since the turn of the century.
Athletic Club (Spain)
Down the sleepy town of Lazema, in the Basque region of Spain lies this legendary club with what is seemingly an unusual mode of operation. Athletic Club remains the only European side solely reliant on talents from its academy – La Cantera and the Basque region. The age-long tradition of the Basque club was born 14 years after being founded (1898). Athletic Club was accused of fielding ineligible foreign players in the 1911 Copa del Rey, so they decided they would only pick players born in the Basque Country or formed locally. Their current crop of first-team players consists of a minimum 18 players from La Cantera, including Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta, and Inaki Williams – this excludes players who are from the Basque region in Spain. Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, and Chelsea’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga trod a similar path in the past, before moving to another club in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Southampton FC (England)
Even before their Premier League promotion in the 2011-12 season, the Saints have been nothing short of sensational in regards to churning out exceptional talents.
Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Toby Alderweireld, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse, and a host of other talents have come through the youth system of the club located in Hampshire in southern England. The Saints Academy and the path to first-team football for youngsters from the academy were further bolstered by the decision made by former club chairman Nicola Cortese in the summer of 2009. Inspired by Barcelona’s La Masia, the Italian invested in the club’s infrastructure and their young players. Southampton has since gone on to make major sales of their academy produce, including Luke Shaw in 2014 to Manchester United, for a fee in the region of £33.75 million, Morgan Schnedrlin to Manchester United for £31.50 million, and Adam Lallana to Liverpool for £27.90 million.
Olympique Lyonnais (France)
France is one of the greatest footballing nations on earth, thus it is of little surprise that numerous clubs in the country boast reputable academies. Honourable mentions must be given to LOSC Lille, Stade Rennais FC, and Saint- Etienne, but the Lyon academy is arguably the best in French football. So much so that a sizable portion of players that came through the academy are currently featuring in the squad (Anthony Lopes, Houssem Aouar and Rayan Cherki, and club captain Alexander Lacazette). There are others who came through the Lyon academy but have left and achieved success elsewhere, famous names being Karim Benzema, Nabil Fekir, Anthony Martial, Samuel Umtiti, and Corentin Tolisso, just to name a few. Many are still of the opinion that if Lyon and the Ligue 1 at large didn’t experience their fair share of financial struggles (which led to them selling a few of these players), they would’ve won several more Ligue 1 titles and other trophies than they have currently.
CIES Football Observatory conducted a study in October 2018 and they found that Lyon have produced the 2nd highest number of players currently playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues, behind only Real Madrid. According to the club’s estimation, 8-12% of the players in each age group who come through their system sign professional contracts, either at the club or elsewhere, compared to an average of 5-6% in the rest of France. As it stands the Lyon Academy is valued at an estimated £270 million.
Atalanta BC (Italy)
The side from Bergamo has been one of many football revelations in Italy over the last decade. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side has translated the success of their first team into their academy. Valued at an estimated £221 million, the Zigonia Academy has been immensely beneficial for Atalanta and Italian football on a large scale. Shaping the future of Italian football, the Zignonia has produced talents including Alessio Tacchinardi and clinical finisher Giampaolo Pazzini over time.
In modern times, the academy has produced talents including Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni, Sassuolo’s shot-stopper Andrea Consigli, and former Juventus forward Dejan Kulusevski. Also, former Juventus Midfielder Manuel Locatelli, Mattia Cladara, and Inter’s Roberto Gagliardini are among a few recent players that came through the ranks in Bergamo.
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a strong record of producing top talent with Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz being amongst the most recent success stories. Players like Gonzalo Castro, Danny da Costa, Dominik Kohr, and Bastian Ozcipka all came through the ranks of the £213 million valued academy. In the recent past, the club has had the likes of Toni Kroos, Arturo Vidal, Kevin Kampl, Christoph Kramer, and Benjamin Henrichs spending developmental years in Leverkusen. One of the key pillars of Leverkusen’s talent development philosophy is an intelligent upbringing, which Gilbert Gorges, the Head of Match Analysis Academy at the club, explained.
Leverkusen adopts the same football philosophy and implements the same training methods from the academy all the way through to the first team. The club’s DNA is dominance on the pitch not just with high ball possession but through the creation of high-quality goal-scoring chances. Little wonder the club opted for former Real Madrid Academy coach Xabi Alonso to lead their young first-team squad.
