Barca's youth development unit- La Masia

Futbol Club Barcelona are among the ultimate exponents of the beautiful game. All conquering innovators playing a brand of football that pulsates through the veins of the famous club like a lifeblood. Take a leisurely weekend stroll around the dusty pitches close to the Camp Nou and you will understand the reason why they are so successful in producing a conveyor belt of supremely talented and composed footballers.
The mantra of ‘tiki-taka’ – short, sharp passing combined with effortless interchange of position, is woven into the fabric of each side that wears the famous blaugrana and for many at the club, especially those who have been there from an early age, it is all they know. At the centre of this ethos is La Masia, the 300-year-old former farmhouse that sits in the shadows of the famous stadium and has been the beating heart of the Barça youth system since opening its doors in 1979.
For more than three decades youngsters lived, ate and slept together as they were taught how to play the game with a passion seldom seem elsewhere. When La Masia closed its doors for the last time in 2011, the evidence of success was plainly evident. Youngsters schooled at the complex have sat at the top echelons of the world game.  Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta were all residents there, as was the greatest of them all, Lionel Messi.
The man who has  arguably had the biggest impact on the way football is taught and played at Barça is Johann Cruyff, a name now synonymous with the  football club. It is said the Dutch maestro suggested the club should introduce a system similar to that at his former side Ajax Amsterdam, who enjoy a common philosophy of the game from an early age. Like so many things involving the great man, he was proven right.

Cruyff returned to manage the club 10 years later and created the famous el dream team which included current Bayern Munich coach and former La Masia resident, Pep Guardiola in its ranks. The team became the greatest in club history and swept all before them, including Sampdoria in the European Cup Final of 1992. They set the benchmark which all who followed dream of emulating and few came close until Guardiola crafted a side together that proved arguably the greatest to have ever taken to a football field.
The bad news for opponents who thought the closure of La Masia meant an end to the production line of star players is the development and scouting system at Barça has grown stronger. The New Masia is up and running at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, a state of the art complex built in 2006, where youngsters are given the very best coaching and fitness training available.
With UEFA continuing their drive to prevent clubs spending more than they earn in the pursuit of glory, youth development has never been more important. Luckily for Barcelona however, the next Xavi and Iniesta are waiting in the wings at the famous Catalan cathedral of football.
_______
The Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Detail
Area
136.839 m2
Facilities
► 5 grass pitches
► 4 artificial grass pitches
► 1 multisport pavilion
► 1 grandstand building by pitch 1
► 1 service building
► 1 dressing room building
► Different training areas for goalkeepers and technical aspects
Location
Located in Sant Joan Despí and covering 136.839 m2 it’s used for First Team and Barça B tranings and youth teams training and matches as well as by many of the other teams at the club.
Now that this facility is fully operational, many of the youth teams that previously used the Camp Nou facilities, mainly the Miniestadi and the Palau Blaugrana 2, nicknamed the ‘Picadero’, will be training there.
The land occupied by the Ciutat Esportiva is just 4.5 km away from the Camp Nou and is directly connected by the road between Barcelona and Sant Joan Despí.
The installations
A) Training fields
The Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper has 9 football pitches divided into five areas:
► Pitch 1: 11 a side football (105 x 68 metres). Warm up area of 4.643 m2 all natural grass. Terrace with capacity for 1.400 people approximately.
► Pitch 2: 11 a side football (105 x 65 metres). Warm up area of 1.475 m2 all natural grass. Terrace with capacity for 400 people approximately
► Pitch 3: 11 a side football (105 x 65 metres). Warm up area of 610 m2 all natural grass. This pitch shares terraces with pitch 2.
► Pitch 4: 11 a side football (105 x 65 metres). Warm up area of 1.573 m2 all natural grass.
► Pitch 5: 11 a side football (105 x 65 metres). Warm up area of 670 m2 all artificial grass.
► Pitch 6: 7 a side football (55 x 38 metres). Artificial grass.
► Pitch 7: 11 a side football (105 x 68 metres). Natural grass. Terrace with capacity for a 1.750 people approximately.
► Pitch 8: 11 a side football (105 x 65 metres). Warm up area of 1.830 m2 all artificial grass which can also be transformed into a 7 a side football or rugby pitch of 107 x 65 metres plus the try area. Terrace with capacity for 950 people approximately.
► Pitch 9: 11 a side football (105 x 65 metres). Warm up area of 2.235 m2 all artificial grass. Can also be transformed into a 7 a side football. This pitch shares terraces with pitch 8.
►Goalkeeper area: Natural grass goalkeeper training area 2.205 m2.
B) Multisport pavilion
Constructed surface: 3,346.05 m2
The pavilion also has three basketball training areas that can also be used by youth handball, basquetball and futsal teams. The terraces have room for 472 spectators.
The lower floor has the following facilities:
►5 changing rooms and 5 offices/changing rooms for coaches and referees
► Office for doctors and medical staff
► A viewing room
The first floor is for the public and accesses the exterior via a staircase and walkway that links this floor to the pavilion, the administration and services building and the grandstand building.
C) Grandstand building
Constructed surface: 7.118,49 m2
Semi-underground building with the following facilities:
► Reception
► Press room
► 4 offices
► 1 meeting room
► 2 referees/coaches/visitors changing rooms
► 1 changing room for professional football with gym and water area
The upper floors are mainly exterior and are linked by a walkway to the administration and services building and the pavilion, and are for public and services use. They also access the main football grandstand. There are 64 places in an underground car park for use by club staff and the Organisational Control Unit.
D) Changing rooms and services
Constructed surface: 2.630,32 m2
Semi-underground building with the following facilities:
► 8 youth football changing rooms
► 4 changing rooms for coaches and referees
► Treatment room
► Public use area