Italian tactician Antonio Conte has this weekend opened up on his admiration for the current work being done behind the scenes at La Liga giants Barcelona.
Barca, of course, have emerged as one of the talking points of world football across the early months of the new season.
Under the watch of mastermind Hansi Flick, the Blaugrana have looked nothing short of unstoppable en route to nine wins from nine across all competitions.
La Masia products have proven central to this ongoing excellence, with the likes of Pau Cubarsí, Fermín López, Lamine Yamal and breakout sensation Xavi Espart shining bright.
Speaking during an extensive interview with The Athletic (as cited by Mundo Deportivo) this weekend, the aforementioned Antonio Conte was therefore asked for his view on the continued success of Barca’s famed academy setup.
And the former Juventus and Chelsea headmaster was full of praise in his response:
“They are doing something extraordinary. Seeing these La Masia lads integrate so naturally at 18 into a team like Barcelona, in front of 100,000 people, and play football with such ease makes you realise there is a lot of hard work behind the scenes at the academy, as they work in perfect harmony with the coach.”
Conte continued:
“I would love to visit their youth academy. They have a well-defined structure, perfectly aligned with the first-team. This year, I was watching a Barcelona match, and I heard a name – that of the left-back (Xavi Espart) – that I didn’t recognise. The DAZN commentator said something like: ‘This kid only played four 10-minute games last year. This year they wanted to loan him out.’ And yet, there he was, starting with astonishing ease.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
