Mourinho and Madrid look elsewhere for talent

By Staff Writer
Updated: 17 July, 2011

The current state of youth development at Real Madrid has been highlighted this week following an insightful article published in Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo.

Oscar Zarate pays particular attention to the dealings of Jose Mourinho and his record in the transfer market, not only in the Spanish capital but at his previous clubs.
The statistics reveal the extent to which the club, who once produced players such as Emilio Butragueño, José Camacho and Raúl, now rely on transfers to fill their squad.

The situation is in stark contrast to the famed La Masia youth academy at bitter rivals Barcelona, who have established themselves at the forefront of youth development and boast a squad full of players developed by the club.

The inclusion of 11 homegrown players in the Real Madrid squad currently on pre-season tour in the US may seem encouraging but of these, only Iker Casillas is an established member of the side.

Startling figures also show that the ten first team cantera debutants last season only managed a paltry 696 minutes between them, a figure almost equalled by promising youth product Andreu Fontás who was given 640 minutes by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.

Of these ten Real Madrid players, three have already left the club during the close season as Mourinho continues to look elsewhere for talent.

This trend has been evident at Real Madrid for a number of years but the Portuguese manager also used the strategy at his previous clubs. In less than four years at Chelsea, the self-proclaimed ‘special one’ spent almost £400 million on new talent with many of his signing struggling to justify the huge fees.
Of the established players in his squad, only captain John Terry came through the ranks and Mourinho failed to land his holy grail, the UEFA Champions League, despite the massive outlay

His time at Inter also saw new transfers flood in to the side, although the £140 million spent was rewarded as they won to the elusive European trophy.

Of the current Barcelona squad preparing for the new La Liga season, an impressive 12 players were resident at the La Masia during their footballing development.

Mourinho and Madrid look elsewhere for talent

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