Cantera
Cantera, literally meaning "
Basque canteras
Athletic Bilbao
Since 1912, Athletic Bilbao have employed a "cantera policy", which has come to be defined in an official (although not legally binding) signing policy whereby they will only recruit players with some link to the Basque Country. One of the main beneficiaries of the policy has been the Spain national team. Athletic has provided numerous players for it, second only to Real Madrid.
During the early 1920s, the Basque Country was a breeding ground of great Spanish players. It was the first area where the sport really became popular, and the influx of immigrants from all over Spain was also a factor in the region producing dozens of quality players. In 1920, Spain made their international debut and entered a team in the Olympic Games. Of the 21 players in the squad, 14 were Basques, among them Pichichi, José María Belauste, Domingo Acedo and Félix Sesúmaga.
Throughout their history, Athletic Bilbao have continued to produce many notable players while adhering to their policy. Among them were
Real Sociedad
Athletic were not the only club to have a cantera policy — fellow Basque club Real Sociedad operated a similar policy until 1989. Neither were Athletic the only Basque club that provided players for the 1920 Olympics squad. Real Sociedad, Real Unión and Arenas Club de Getxo also provided players. In 1928, these four clubs became founding members of La Liga, demonstrating further the strength in depth of the Basque canteras at the time. The saying "Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación", translated as "With home-grown teams and supporters, there is no need for imports", made sense during these early days.
The ability of the Basque Country to produce great players was made clear during the early 1980s when La Real and Athletic won four Liga titles in a row between
Barcelona and Real Madrid
Although
Numerous senior players have graduated through the ranks of Barcelona's
Similarly, numerous notable professional players have graduated Real Madrid's youth academy, known as
As well as producing players from their own regions, both clubs have also recruited young players from throughout Spain and internationally. Recent examples include Argentines Lionel Messi, Mauro Icardi and Esteban Cambiasso.
Poaching of players
Ever since the early days of football in Spain, one issue for cantera clubs is the poaching or recruiting of their players by other clubs. After the cantera has trained a player, another club will step in with a tempting offer and take them away. The potential of the Basque Country as a recruiting ground for players was recognised by the likes of Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid early on.
Barça, in particular, has a long history of signing players from the region, dating back to the acquisition of
The successful Atlético Madrid teams of the 1960s also included a notable Basque presence in the form of Miguel Jones and José Eulogio Gárate, both recruited from Indautxu, and Javier Irureta, signed from Real Unión. Real Madrid has also regularly looked north for players such as Rafael Alkorta, Mikel Lasa, Aitor Karanka and Iván Campo.
Athletic Bilbao, however, have also been regularly accused of poaching. The Athletic policy of recruiting only Basque-players has seen them frequently recruit from the canteras of other Basque clubs. In 1995, Athletic signed Joseba Etxeberria from Real Sociedad, causing considerable ill feeling between the two clubs.
By the 1990s, the poaching of players took on a new dimension. Real Madrid in particular have regularly produced quality players unable to establish themselves with their home club. Some critics have argued that this has partly arisen because these clubs continue to use "imports" at the expense of cantera players. As a result, many graduates of the canteras seek their fortune elsewhere and are willing to be poached. Initially, cantera players only moved to other Spanish clubs, but in more recent times, English Premier League clubs have begun recognizing the potential of the canteras. In 2003, Arsenal persuaded Cesc Fàbregas to leave Barcelona B with a much higher salary that Barcelona could not offer due to Spanish contractual law.
More recently, teenage star Fran Mérida followed Fàbregas' footsteps and played some time for Arsenal's reserve team before returning to La Liga in 2010 with Atlético Madrid. Another emerging Barça B player, Gerard Piqué, subsequently signed for Manchester United, though he has since moved back to Barcelona. Since then, Rafael Benítez, himself a product of the cantera, has recruited Luis García Sanz, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres for Liverpool, while Mikel Arteta established himself at Everton. Luis García Sanz, Reina and Arteta all began their career at Barça; Alonso started out at Real Sociedad; and Torres developed in the Atlético system.
Other canteras
Other important canteras are:
.
References
- ^ Uranga, Elisa. "The Ones That Got Away: Real Madrid Cantera". Archived from the original on 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
External links
- (in Spanish) Voluntad de tradición, an article on the Athletic Bilbao cantera policy
- The lost boys of Barcelona, by Ronald Atkin