Can Ronald Koeman Resurrect La Masia

At the beginning of the Millennium, Barcelona had great players coming through their academy, with many having successful careers.

Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and Cesc Fabregas are some examples of players who came through the academy in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. With Sergio Busquests and Lionel Messi following shortly after.

However, in the last decade, many stars of the Barcelona academy haven’t reached their expected heights.

Two examples of this is Bojan Krkic and Ibrahim Afellay. Both expected to become huge stars of the game, but couldn’t live up to their expected potential.

The most successful La Masia graduate in recent years has been Sergi Roberto, who still currently plays for the Catalonian club, but isn’t at a similar level of players before him.

This could be down to the lack of playing time for La Masia graduates since Pep Guardiola’s farewell back in 2012. With new managers having less faith in the youth, therefore spending more money in the transfer windows.

Camp Nou Tunnel, Decorated With Flags and Scarfs Of The Fans – “FC Barcelona players’ tunnel leads to Camp Nou Stadium with painted club flags on the walls and illuminated stairway in Spain” by verchmarco is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Many Barcelona fans weren’t happy when it was announced in August 2020 that former player and Netherlands National Team manager, Ronald Koeman would become their new manager.

However, since his arrival, Koeman has tried to revive La Masia, to bring through the next generation of top talents at Barcelona.

Koeman also had support from other former players. Patrick Kluivert was already at the club as part of the academy, and Henrik Larsson was brought in as the assistant coach under Koeman.

Within his first year in charge of the club, he has already introduced new faces to the first time, with many receiving a lot of game time.

Ansu Fati did feature prior to Koeman’s appointment. However, the 18-year-old was electric at the beginning of the season, picking up the La Liga player of the month award in September, before suffering an injury which put him out for the rest of the season.

Pedri, Ronald Araujo and Ilaix Moriba have all featured a lot under Koeman this season, with all having had impressive moments this season.

It’s likely that more La Masia players will make the step up next season, as it’s likely Koeman will have some individuals in his plans. With Mika Marmol, Nico Gonzalez and Konrad De La Fuente and many more being impressive talents, who can offer a lot to the current team.

What’s more striking for Barcelona is that, it’s unlikely it will stop there, with Barcelona having 49 academies set up around the world, on five different continents.

It’s interesting what the Barcelona board will do in the summer. Having been beaten in the Round of 16 in the Champions League by PSG. Tensions are also high the the league, with four teams fighting for the La Liga title. Even though they won the Copa Del Rey, they will expect a lot of the Dutchman.

However, if they still trust Koeman, it’s likely more youth products will get the necessary game time to develop their game, whilst the young players who have already featured a lot will get better as time goes on.

Koeman is trying to set a long term future for Barcelona, similar to what they experienced through the early 2000’s, but his project needs time to develop. The big question at the end of the season will be, do the fans and the board still have confidence in him?

“Camp Nou – Barcelona FC” by JLH PHOTO is licensed under CC BY 2.0

David Alaba Joins Real Madrid

Real Madrid have completed the signing of Bayern Munich defender David Alaba on a pre-contract agreement. He will join Los Blancos in the summer.

The 28-year-old has been a key component for the Bavarians in the last decade, having made 459 appearances for the Germans.

It was reported that many teams had interest in the Austrian at the beginning of 2021, but Real Madrid where always the front runner when it came to getting Alaba.

It is also confirmed that teammate, Jerome Boateng will also be looking for a new club in the summer, with Bayern Munich not offering him a new contract.

Die Roten have already signed a replacement for Alaba. It was announced back in February that Dayot Upamecano will join Bayern in the summer for a fee around £38 Million.

Alaba will see a familiar face when moving to the Bernabeu, as former Munich player Toni Kroos has been at Madrid since 2014, he spent four seasons in Bavaria.

Madrid have secured themselves an extremely versatile player, who has features as a Center Back, Left Back and Defensive Midfielder.

Alaba has won 26 major titles during his time at Bayern Munich, including two Champions League titles and nine Bundesliga titles, and could add more by the end of the season.

Alaba is Real Madrid’s first signing for the 2021/22 summer window.

“New football pitch” by ToShU is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Manchester City VS PSG: Match Report

8pm GMT Kick Off, Parc Des Princes, Champions League Semi Final 1st Leg

A late free kick by Riyad Mahrez gives Man City the advantage against PSG in the Champions League Semi Final.

Neymar had the first chance of the game, as he found space just inside the Man City box, which forced Ederson into a save.

Minutes later, PSG took the lead when Angel Di Maria fired in a dangerous corner, which was met by the head of Marquinhos, which gave Ederson no chance of keeping it out.

City tried to hit back early, as Joao Cancelo crossed the ball to Bernardo Silva at the far post. He got his foot to the ball, but Keylor Navas was able to tip it behind.

PSG came close to doubling their lead, after Marco Verratti picked the ball up just outside the City box, and tried to pick out Kylian Mbappe, the pass had too much on it for the Frenchman to get on the end of it.

Just before the half came to a close, City should have equalised through Phil Foden. The Youngster found himself unmarked in the PSG area. Foden was unable to convert, as struck his shot straight at Navas.

The first chance of the second half came for PSG when Mbappe used his pace to get down the left wing. He pulled it back across the box which Verratti just missed.

Kevin De Bruyne came close to a memorable Champions League goal. The ball was blocked by Presnel Kimpembe and fell to De Bruyne who attempted a bicycle kick. His attempt went just over the bar.

Minutes later, De Bruyne was able to get the all-important away goal. De Bruyne tries to cross the ball to John Stones. The cross failed to meet the City player, however his cross went past Navas, into the net.

City found more confidence and took the lead thanks to Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez had a free kick in a dangerous position. He found the gap between the wall and curled into the net.

It went from bad to worse for PSG as Idrissa Gueye picked up a straight red card after a dangerous tackle on Ilkay Gundogan.

Man City were able to hold out and take a big step as they look to advance to their first Champions League Final.

Peterborough United VS Lincoln City – Match Preview

Kick Off: 3pm GTM, Saturday 1st May, London Road, League One Fixture

Last 5 Games:
  • Peterborough United WWLWD
  • Lincoln City WWWLW

A game with huge importance in League One as both teams look to gain automatic promotion to the Championship.

Peterborough are currently in 2nd in the League One table on 83 points, whereas Lincoln are 3rd on 75 points, having played a game less than The Posh.

Peterborough faced Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday, knowing a win would guarantee them Championship football next season, for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

It looked they would secure the three points as they went two goals ahead, but Doncaster hit back with two of their own either side of the half time whistle.

As for Lincoln, they travelled to Shrewsbury on Tuesday, where they took away the three points, with the only goal coming from Jorge Grant.

With that win they keep the pressure on Peterborough, knowing if they can beat The Posh on Saturday and win their game in hand, it’s all to play for on the final day of the season.

The teams met earlier in the season at Sincil Bank Stadium. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. The game saw a red card after Nathan Thompson handled the ball in the box. Following the sending off Lincoln were awarded a penalty, but Grant was unable to take the advantage from the penalty spot.

Heading into the game on Saturday, Peterborough have won 15 out of 22 home games this season, whereas Lincoln have won 13 out of 21 away games, which is a new club record for The Imps in the Football League.

Key Players

Jonson Clarke-Harris: The Englishman was brought in to replace Ivan Toney this summer, and has fit in perfectly. He’s scored 29 goals and has 3 assists in 44 games for Posh this season, and has been pivotal to their chances in promotion.

He wasn’t able to find the back of the net against Doncaster, but if he is able to on Saturday, it’ll give his side a great chance of promotion.

Jorge Grant: The midfielder has been a vital part of this Lincoln team as they push for promotion. In 33 games this season, he has scored 12 and assisted 7.

He scored the all important goal on Tuesday to keep the pressure on Peterborough, and he will need to have another good performance on Saturday if they are going to get automatic promotion.

Prediction: Peterborough 1-2 Lincoln